{"id":854825,"date":"2026-08-14T09:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T09:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/854825\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T09:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T09:54:19","slug":"popular-aussie-retailer-bye-bambi-under-fire-for-selling-tone-deaf-90-t-shirt-that-says-help-me-im-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/854825\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular Aussie retailer Bye Bambi under fire for selling \u2018tone deaf\u2019 $90 T-shirt that says \u2018Help me I\u2019m poor\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">An Aussie retailer has apologised after sparking controversy over its recent range of slogan T-shirts, with people online accusing the company of being \u2018completely tone deaf\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Bye Bambi, a Melbourne based \u2018slow fashion\u2019 retailer, triggered widespread debate this week after launching a variety of $90 fitted tees featuring different printed slogans, including \u2018Billionaire B****\u2019 and \u2018Need $ for NYC\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">One of the garments that\u2019s garnered the most heat on social media is the brand\u2019s orange top that has \u2018Help me I\u2019m poor\u2019 splashed in bold capital letters across the chest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Customers immediately questioned the garment\u2019s price tag, the message and also the choice of model.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/87582d331bbcf8dab92152a7eef66e24d53d9da1.jpg\" alt=\"The orange tee created by Bye Bambi has been called out for the price tag, the message and the choice of model.\" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\"\/>Camera IconThe orange tee created by Bye Bambi has been called out for the price tag, the message and the choice of model. Credit: @Bye Bambi\/Website &amp; Instagram<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">One passionate Tik Tok user slammed the company\u2019s design for seemingly mocking those in financial hardship through an item of clothing that would set back customers nearly three figures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cDid you design that and think it was a good idea? Did you pay someone to design that and think that [looks good]?\u201d the young Aussie ranted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cThere are people that don\u2019t have homes, they can\u2019t eat, they\u2019re freezing outside on the streets of Melbourne and just Australia in general, and you think this shirt [looks good]?\u201d she doubled down.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e68d3f2fc7f4b3868237077545a81e5178f4aa60.jpg\" alt=\"The retailer has come under fire for its range of $90 slogan t-shirts.\" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\"\/>Camera IconThe retailer has come under fire for its range of $90 slogan t-shirts. Credit: @Bye Bambi\/Website<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cThis has got to be some sick joke \u2014 Help me I\u2019m poor \u2014 like are we serious?\u201d another angered user asked in a rage-filled Tik Tok rant against the retailer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">She continued: \u201cThis isn\u2019t cool or edgy. Someone who is actually poor is not spending $90 on a T-shirt, let alone having it blasted on themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cThe irony that someone who is actually poor has most likely made this in a sweatshop in China where they\u2019re not being paid a living wage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Opinions remain divided online, with some people agreeing the brand should not have produced the tee in the first place, while others argue they can\u2019t see a problem with the design.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cSo insanely tone deaf. Reference or not, read the room\u201d one person commented, with another adding: \u201cUnfortunately along the way of trying to push \u2018cool girl\u2019 fashion, brands have become very tone deaf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cIt\u2019s actually a f****** joke, WHO IS WEARING THAT,\u201d a third commented.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Others argued: \u201cGuys it\u2019s funny why are you so mad about it\u201d and \u201cThis generation is too soft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">As reported by <a class=\"css-445i33-StyledTextLink ezegcyi0\" data-link-type=\"article-inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news.com.au\/lifestyle\/fashion\/melbourne-fashion-label-bye-bambi-pulls-90-tshirt-after-intense-backlash\/news-story\/637e0591a566ab28febb4973a0c71966\">News.com<\/a>, Bye Bambi confirmed they had pulled the item in a post on their Instagram page on Tuesday, stating: \u201cWe hear where you\u2019re coming from. We understand that without that context [the slogan] landed very differently and missed the mark, and we\u2019re sorry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cWe removed the tee from sale earlier this morning and have been archiving our own content featuring it, as we don\u2019t want to continue promoting a product we\u2019ve withdrawn or messaging that has caused offence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cWe really appreciate you taking the time to call it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">PerthNow has reached out to Bye Bambi for further comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Aussie retailer has apologised after sparking controversy over its recent range of slogan T-shirts, with people online&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,99,134,1625,44,12587],"class_list":["post-854825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-entertainment","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-small-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}