Walmart Issues An Apology After Tweeting A Joke About Paul Walker's Death

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Walmart Apologizes After Joking About Paul Walker’s Death

Walmart was forced to apologize this week after catching heat for a tweet that many perceived as the brand making jokes about Paul Walker’s death.

The backlash started on January 14, when the superstore’s social media team responded to a tweet where a customer expressed their excitement over some cinnamon rolls. In another tweet, the user followed-up with a gif of a speeding car, writing, “*me racin to the nearest Wally World*”

That’s when the person running Walmart’s official Twitter account decided to respond to the gif with a joke. But, unfortunately, their reference was a little outdated.

“Hey, Paul Walker. Click it, or ticket,” Walmart’s account tweeted.

Obviously, this is a reference to Walker’s famous role in the Fast and the Furious films–but beside driving cars in the movies, the actor also died from a car crash in 2013. Multiple Twitter users noted that the Walmart employee was quoting a line from a Workaholics episode that aired two years before Walker’s death. But still, it’s in pretty bad taste.

Since the backlash, Walmart has deleted the tweet and went on to issue an apology.

“We apologize to Paul Walker’s family, friends and fans. The tweet was posted in poor judgment and has been removed,” the brand said in a statement.