Despite attempts to rebrand the company, it looks like American Apparel is back to its old ways. The retailer is now under fire after an employee shared a photo of a T-shirt that said "ask me to take it all off." The tee is apparently the staff's suggested Black Friday uniform.
According to an email from the company shared by The Mary Sue, the shirts as well as buttons with the same phrase will be given to employees. The uniform isn't mandatory, but the staff is encouraged to participate.
"I understand that American Apparel, the corporation, doesn’t see me as a real person and aims to commodify my sexuality in order to sell their product," the employee told the site. "I still work for them because in the past, I have always had discretion about how I choose to present myself at work (so long as I wear AA head to toe). Now they are actively encouraging our patrons to sexually harass me and my colleagues, some of whom are as young as 15."
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time the company has caused controversy over sexualizing young girls since CEO Paula Schneider said that she wanted to make American Apparel less sexualized.
The shirt has now been discontinued by the company, which also issued an apology saying that the slogan was a “play on words."
"We understand that this offended an individual employee who spoke up about his/her concerns. American Apparel is a company that values free speech, and most importantly, creating an environment where employees feel valued, protected, and safe," it wrote. "As such, we have decided to discontinue this slogan and will seek other ways to stay creative and push the envelope, which is part of our brand DNA.”
