btw:CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Bob Wise sent a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch on Monday demanding that the clothing retailer stop selling a T-shirt that spoofs the state with the slogan, "It's All Relative in West Virginia."
Wise said the T-shirt depicts "an unfounded, negative stereotype of West Virginia."
"I write to you today to demand that you immediately remove this item from your stores and your print and online catalogues," Wise wrote. "In addition, these shirts must be destroyed at once to avoid any possibility of resale and proof be given thereof."
Abercrombie & Fitch spokesman Tom Lennox said the T-shirt, which features the slogan on an outline of the state, has been selling well at $22.50. He could not say how much it would cost the company if the T-shirts were destroyed.
"We love West Virginia. We love California, Florida, Connecticut, Hawaii and Nebraska too. Abercrombie & Fitch was born and raised in the USA, and we honor all 50 states in the union," said Lennox, director of investor relations and corporation communications for the New Albany, Ohio-based company.
Wise called the T-shirt an "offensive item" that "subjects our youth to unsubstantiated and false impressions of West Virginia."
"Indeed, such a depiction of West Virginians undermines our collective efforts to communicate a positive representation of the spirit and values of our citizens," the governor wrote.
Some residents also said the T-shirt was offensive while others found it amusing.
"I find it highly offensive. I can't understand how it is acceptable for Abercrombie & Fitch to make a profit off of a horrible stereotype of West Virginia," said Joe Jarvis with Wisdom Radio in Bluefield. "In other states, people see us as uneducated, inbreeding hillbillies, and that is why I am irate."
Caroline Moore of Charleston said the T-shirt didn't bother her.
"This shirt, the shirt itself, doesn't offend me. It covers more than most of their stuff," Moore said.
Choski Harman, a student at Concord College in Athens, said she bought the shirt because she thought it was funny.
West Virginia is not the only state that is spoofed on an Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt. Another shirt's slogan is "New Hampshire. 40 million squirrels can't be wrong."
What did the girl from West Virginia say after she lost her virginity?
"Get off me daddy, you're crushing my cigarettes!"
(sorry Nitram, Tevar.... i couldn't resist)
