A fancy dress costume of disgraced Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has received public backlash for its poor taste.
Halloween is like a holiday of excuses; an excuse for kids to eat as much sweets as they want, an excuse for rowdy teenagers to egg and T.P. their neighbours’ houses and – most of all – an excuse to dress up in the most offensive costume adults can come up with.
Which leads us nicely onto Amazon who have come under fire for a costume which allows you dress up as convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius.
Dubbed ‘Blade Gunner’, it is a play on Pistorius’ nickname the ‘Blade Runner’ during his time as a successful time as a Paralympic athlete. Due to the backlash, Amazon have promptly removed the costume from their website. However it is still available on Joker’s Masquerade online store for £22.99.
Found under their ‘Bad Taste Fancy Dress’ category, the website does offer a disclaimer which warns costumers that:
If you are easily offended, our Bad Taste Costumes may not be for you. Here at Jokers’ Masquerade we decided to be a little rebellious by compiling this collection of wonderfully inappropriate costumes for those who like to push the boundaries.
Perfect for stag do’s and wild nights out, this range of rude, lewd and crude costumes are guaranteed to ensure you stand out from the crowd and raise a few eyebrows.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the removal of the offensive costume, adding:
All Marketplace sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don’t will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. The product in question is no longer available.
On Valentine’s Day, 2013, Oscar Pistoruis shot his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at their home in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius claimed that he thought Steenkamp was a burglar and he only shot her (four times) in self-defence, while unaware it was her.
However there were also reports that Pistoruis and Steenkamp’s relationship was already on the rocks, furthermore the seven-time gold winning Paralympian continuously denied reports of being jealous or aggressive during the relationship.
In the end he was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Joker’s Masquerade promises their ‘Blade Gunner’ costume will:
Cause lots of controversy at your next party… This eye catching, head turning costume idea is ideal for any event, whether it be Halloween or just a shindig at a friends.
While some may argue that the tragic shooting took place over four years ago and that we should ‘get over ourselves’, it’s clear there are many who still think the costume is in poor taste, hence Amazon’s decision to take it down.
Just my advice (you don’t have to take it), but if you are going out this Halloween make sure you don’t dress up in something that will most likely offend a lot of people, it’s not worth the banter.
