Lilly Pulitzer is best known for its bright preppy prints, but images found hanging up in the office of one of its employees were decidedly less cheerful.
The clothing brand’s King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, headquarters was photographed for fashion website The Cut, and readers quickly noticed an alarming image among the otherwise innocuous photos in the slideshow.
One of the slides shows two fat-shaming cartoons, which according to the caption depict “the personal illustrations of an employee not pictured in this story.”
Lilly Pulitzer's new prints include fat-shaming cartoons http://t.co/vfjvkljVAw pic.twitter.com/krrjj93h6W
— PAPER Magazine (@papermagazine) May 26, 2015
One drawing reads, “Just another day of…Fat, White, and Hideous. You should probably just kill yourself…,” while another says, “Put It Down Carb Face.”
Once the offensive images hit Twitter, many turned to the social media site to share their disappointment with the brand.
Writer Susan Silver Tweeted, “wow, shame on them. Such Mean Girls!”
YouTuber Melissa Mabe wrote, “Fat shaming photos in the @LillyPulitzer office?? Seriously? You should have the freedom to love yourself.”
“It’s sad that @LillyPulitzer is contributing to the bullying problem in America, instead of using their power to fix it,” Tweeted user @_danaLo.
Lilly Pulitzer has since apologized for the images.
“These illustrations were the work of one individual and were posted in her personal work area,” Jane Schoenborn, vice president of creative communications said in a statement to PEOPLE. “While we are an employer that does encourage people to decorate their own space, we are a female-dominated company and these images do not reflect our values. We apologize for any harm this may have caused.”
This isn’t the first time Lilly Pulitzer has come under fire for discriminating against people based on their weight. The company received online outrage after announcing that the plus sizes of their Target collection would not be sold in stores.
What do you think of the latest Lilly Pulitzer controversy? Sound off below.
–Gabrielle Olya
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