Premium denim apparel brand Tshepo Jeans has been dealing with the backlash it received for berating an up-and-coming retailer on social media.
Why is social media dragging Tshepo Jeans?
Social media is a fickle virtual reality. One day, it is on your side and when this is the case, the fruits are quite enjoyable. However, one reckless tweet can have everything you’ve worked hard for fall flat on your face.
While this may not be the case for Tshepo Jeans, it is certainly a reality check the brand needed to keep itself grounded. Things went awry when the denim brand posted a now-deleted tweet that rubbed people up the wrong way.
Tweeps saw this as Tshepo Jeans berating an independent personal protective equipment merchant.
As expected, people took offence to this and called for the denim brand to be taught a lesson.
This is the brand’s attempt at an explanation
The brand did not react quick enough to the backlash. By the time users caught wind of what was happening, someone had already taken a screenshot of the now-deleted tweet.
The only other way to address the situation was to issue a statement. However, nothing about the response was empathetic. In fact, Tshepo Jeans claims the joke was not a way of berating an independent merchant but it was a jab at a fabric outlet that allegedly stole their intellectual property.
Suffice it to say, the explanation was not met with understanding. These are some of the reactions we picked out from social media:
