Earlier this week, an image of kettle being sold by JCPenney went viral after a Reddit user told everyone that it looked like Hitler. Now the department store is doing damage control, telling everyone that this was clearly unintentional.
As we previously reported, the Michael Graves Design Bells and Whistles Stainless Steel Tea Kettle had been featured on a billboard in the Los Angeles area. A photo of the billboard went viral, since the placement of the curved handle, cover and arm make it look like a picture of Hitler giving the Nazi salute.
The kettle has now sold out online and The Huffington Post notes that it had even disappeared from the website on Wednesday.
JCPenney used Twitter to tell every news source it could that the resemblance to the dictator was not intended. In a tweet to The Telegraph, the company said that if the kettle was supposed to be something, they would have designed it to be a snowman.
As for the billboard that started this mess, CBS LA reports that it has been taken down.
The Guardian notes that if you want the $40 kettle now, you have to shell out a lot of money. One sold on eBay for $199. Others are available now and go for anywhere between $150 and $185.
image: JCPenney.com