‘Cosplay’ Definition T-Shirt Gets Pulled by Hot Topic After Complaints

BACKSTORY: This “Cosplay Definition” shirt used to be available at Hot Topic, until…

Amy Ratcliffe of Geek with Curves spoke out against it (along with hundreds of other people,) saying:

“There is no “right” way to cosplay. If you can’t sew and instead make a cardboard version of a costume, that’s fine. If you apply rule 63, that’s good too. Not the right shape, height, color of the character you’re cosplaying as? Doesn’t matter. Cosplay the characters you love, have fun, and don’t pay attention to what anyone says about it … It’s bad enough for those of us in the community, but what kind of elitist signal is this sending to non-geeks or people who want to cosplay and have been too shy to do so? It’s bullying captured in a t-shirt. Ugh.”

Believe it or not, Hot Topic — who seems to be trying to cater to various geek fandoms in the past few years, from Doctor Who to even a deal with Her Universe — heard Amy’s disappointment and frustration and pulled the shirt from its site, after leaving this message to Amy on Facebook:

“Hey Amy, thanks for reaching out. We are sorry you found the shirt’s message to be negative. We intended the message to encourage cosplayers to go all out. That said, we’re removing the shirt from our site in response to your feedback.”

What do you think: Do you think the shirt should have been pulled? Do you think Hot Topic was aware of the negative message the shirt portrayed or was it an honest attempt to appeal to the cosplaying community that misfired?

[Source: Geek with Curves]