Groupon has apologized after it said a third-party seller posted a racial slur in the description for an item on the e-commerce site.
"We are appalled that this language was displayed on our site,” the company said in a statement. “This product description was provided by a third-party seller via our self-service platform. Regardless, this is completely unacceptable and violates our policies -- to say nothing of our values.”
Groupon continued to say the deal from the third-party seller was immediately removed when they were made aware of the situation and the seller was removed from its marketplace.
“Language like this has no place on Groupon, and we're further strengthening our self-service controls to ensure it doesn't happen again,” the statement read.
The company was the subject of social media backlash after a user reported a pair of shoes with the n-word in the color options.
CJ James, who posted a screenshot of the description that went viral, said he was just browsing the web when it caught his attention.
"I felt heartbroken, embarrassed and ashamed," he told WNBC. "It's a shame that we're in this situation 50 years later of MLK being assassinated and we're still fighting these issues."
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Some users even said they planned to boycott the company over the matter, calling the description “highly offensive” and “blatantly racist.”
"It was exposed on Groupon [Tuesday night] but there are other vendors, people who think these are words that should be part of our everyday English dictionary," James said.
It’s not the first time an offensive item has been posted to an online marketplace via a third-party seller.
Last year, Walmart pulled a T-shirt offered by an outside seller from its online store after a journalist advocacy group said it found the shirt threatening.
Months earlier, the n-word was used in a product description on the retail giant’s website, which was again posted by a third-party seller.
