The Worst Movie Display We've Ever Seen

Oh boy. A UK grocer and retailer Sainsbury's has been under quite a lot of heat for an offensive display an Oxford branch recently put out. Next to the rack of DVD's for 2013's Best Picture, 12 Years a Slave, a mannequin styled like the slaves in the film stands next to the movies. Tattered clothes, a twig in the pocket, and all. The horrible display is an insult to Steve McQueen's harrowing masterpiece about the inhumane horrors of slavery in America. It's an especially potent dig considering the store is within one of the UK's most affluent cities and home to one of the world's most elite universities.

So far the company has not officially responded, but the store has since removed the display since the outrage ensued. Sainsbury's PR twitter account did tweet on Monday, " We can only apologise. It’s been taken down from the store. Clearly should never have gone up." However, the public are still quite upset about the grossly insensitive "marketing" and the company ought to release an official statement and apology.

The clothes on the mannequin aren't actually on sale at the store, so it was clear that the "ensemble" was put together in order to promote the film. It is as baffling as it is utterly brainless.

Image: Fox Searchlight; The Independent/Twitter