“It’s A Hoodrat Thing,” owners Frankie and Nina in the brand’s clothing (It’s A Hoodrat Thing blog)
A fashion boutique has issued a self-serving apology after Twitter users criticized it over its name, “It’s a Hoodrat Thing.” As a result of the uproar, the brand was removed from online retailer Asos’ website on Friday, Dec. 16.
The derogatory term is used to describe a promiscuous young woman from a low-income, inner-city neighborhood, but two white women adopted it for the title of their Asos-hosted store and the Internet was unamused.
Twitter user Sweet Cee spotted the “Hoodrat” streetwear brand on Thursday, Dec. 15. However, UsWeekly reported it was available in the Asos Marketplace beginning in January and it has been listed as the London-based shop’s “One to Watch” lines. The Bali-based seller was launched by two white women named Frankie and Nina and although their website and social media pages are no longer active, Sweet Cee took screenshots of the company’s About Us page. On it, the owners touted themselves as “hip-hop loving wanna be gangsters” who connected about, among other things, 1990s R&B.
https://twitter.com/_christinecath/status/809418509302239233
Sweet Cee’s Twitter screenshots went viral and other Twitter users quickly weighed in.
@NeauxGeauxHeaux they’re so messed up. Just because we make everything we go through look seamless .. they out here trying to pimp it all..
— KAHLIA BAKOSI (@KahliaBakosi) December 16, 2016
Um @hoodrat_thing is an unacceptable & gross bastardization of culture. So disappointed @ASOS @ASOS_HeretoHelp pic.twitter.com/LSJHXZsotV
— Wesley Madison (@AddyMadison) December 16, 2016
"It's a hoodrat thing" like wtf @asos ?!
— Thigh Dolla $ign ✊🏾🏳️🌈 (@Lei_Bay_Bay) December 16, 2016
@ASOSMarketplace LOL bye ? I was about to spend a shit ton after Christmas. I’ll protest like ? & ?about the Ivanka Trump line ?
— ??Leah-Leoso?? (@marveleahous) December 17, 2016
Not buying any "hoodrat" shit from somebody who can't point you to the nearest "hood" miss tf outta me, ASOS.
— Big Tai (@HoeStopTwatchin) December 16, 2016
Asos also used Twitter to announce the boutique’s removal from its marketplace.
hey, thanks for letting us know about this. We've now removed the boutique from our site.
— ASOS Marketplace (@ASOSMarketplace) December 16, 2016
As a result, “It’s a Hoodrat Thing” owners issued the apology, trying to explain away their name by dismissing any racial connections.
“Hoodrat is a derogatory term for women, not race!” the statement read in part. “And that’s why we chose it for our name. Our brand is all about the importance of Girl power!”
“We are not naive and we did our research and spoke to what we thought was an adequate amount of people before settling on the name, so we are sorry that people have found it to be offensive,” it continued. “We are not trying to degrade any culture here.”
But Twitter was unmoved by the defensive non-apology.
https://twitter.com/JoniiAndTheCake/status/809762995308023808
https://twitter.com/JamilliaDomani/status/810819567471775744
