The photograph, which hung in the bedroom section of Ikea’s Cardiff store, shows a little boy posing with his finger over his top lip.
When someone contacted the Twitter account of Ikea’s UK customer services department insisting that the child looked like Hitler, the matter soon spiraled out of control.
@IKEAUKSupport Saw this in a “Bedroom” in your Cardiff store yesterday. Inappropriate much? #Hitler #Salute pic.twitter.com/AvXjjhlqYz
— *StevieDE83* (@StevieDE83) October 11, 2016
The Tweet earned international media attention, and British comedian Ricky Gervais even weighed in, insisting that the complaint was absurd and mocking the reaction.
Haha. People offended by a kid pretending to have a moustache. Why is he doing Hitler & not Freddie Mercury, say? Mental. https://t.co/fhJ7hYifPK
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) October 12, 2016
.@IKEAUKSupport Saw this in your Cardiff store yesterday. Inappropriate much? #Shipman #KilledOldPeopleInAChair pic.twitter.com/tarSGj55sF
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) October 12, 2016
Please complain if you see something that makes you think of something bad in your head.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) October 12, 2016
When contacted by The Local, Ikea's Swedish press office declined to comment on the incident, instead referring to their British counterparts. Ikea UK sent a statement from Cardiff store manager Richard Owen:
“We can confirm that a photograph that could cause offence to some of our customers was found in our store. We often use photography to illustrate life at home in our room sets and as soon as we were made aware, the image was immediately removed. We apologise for any offence the image may have caused.”
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