Filipino-Chinese business tycoon Henry Sy Sr (2nd R, on wheelchair) waits with family members and government officials to take part in the opening ceremony of SM Aura Premier shopping mall in Taguig, Metro Manila
Filipino-Chinese business tycoon Henry Sy Sr (2nd R, on wheelchair) waits with family members and government officials to take part in the opening ceremony of SM Aura Premier shopping mall in Taguig, Metro Manila May 16, 2013. SM Aura Premier will be open to the public on May 17, and is among the shopping malls owned by Henry Sy Sr. REUTERS/Erik De Castro (PHILIPPINES - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS POLITICS)
Filipino-Chinese business tycoon Henry Sy Sr (2nd R, on wheelchair) waits with family members and government officials to take part in the opening ceremony of SM Aura Premier shopping mall in Taguig, Metro Manila May 16, 2013. SM Aura Premier will be open to the public on May 17, and is among the shopping malls owned by Henry Sy Sr. REUTERS/Erik De Castro (PHILIPPINES - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS POLITICS)

A photo of a T-shirt with an offending message became viral on Facebook and other social media sites after Filipinos criticised the manufacturer for its rape joke. The strong negative sentiment about the said apparel led Philippine mall giant SM Supermalls to pull out the item from its shelves.

The T-shirt has the words: "It's not rape, it's a snuggle with a struggle." Writer Karen Kunawicz posted the photo on her Facebook page on Monday, and by Tuesday night, it was shared almost 4,000 times and liked more than 1,300 times.

The T-shirt was displayed in the male teen section of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Kunawicz found it ironic that it's the same mall that recites the Catholic prayer, the Angelus, every day and refused to show Sweeney Todd at its cinemas.

The Megamall, a landmark in Metro Manila which helped the once grassy area on the boundary of Pasig City develop into a major commercial district, also has a chapel that holds Sunday masses and has a policy of not showing movies that have X ratings.

Underscoring her reference to Sweeney Todd, Kunawicz wrote, "Boys listen to Tita (Aunt) Karen - if a girl says NO and pushes you away, just err on the side of caution, she likely means NO. And go watch 'Sweeney Todd.'"

SM Supermalls, in a statement, said, "We have immediately pulled out all the T-shirts of the consignor that distributes them ... Appropriate action will be taken to ensure this does not happen again. Thank you for informing us."

YouTube/GMA News

The owner of SM is Henry Sy, the richest man in the Philippines. SM runs 46 malls across the country which are considered the weekend hangout of many Filipinos for lack of decent outdoor parks, and it also operates SM malls in China, where Sy's ancestors originate.

Almost 200 Facebook friends of Kunawicz have commented on the offending shirt and one of them, Catherine Angela Fructuoso, pointed out, "THIS is what happens when a culture of rape is fostered and ALLOWED through the tolerance of things like 'harmless and witty' rape jokes."

A similar incident happened with Amazon in 2013.

YouTube/Channel 4 News

Fructuoso cited an incident involving two Philippine TV celebrities of a rape joke gone bad which bounced back against gay comedian Vice Ganda who made fun of the weight problem of news executive Jessica Soho, followed by a slew of rape jokes.

YouTube/MartinKNPB

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