Meesho Removes Lawrence Bishnoi Tshirts From Site After Backlash

Ecommerce major Meesho has sparked outrage on social media for selling t-shirts featuring gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, with some users calling out the company for “glorifying” criminal figures on its platform to make a quick buck.

A social media user shared a post on X on November 4 that showed t-shirts with images of Bishnoi were up for grabs on Meesho for as low as INR 166. Some t-shirts depicted Bishnoi as “hero”, while others had the word “gangster” printed on them.

Bishnoi is allegedly involved in dozens of criminal cases and a suspect in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case.

The issue quickly snowballed into a public backlash with some users suggesting that Meesho should be “de-platformed” for promoting controversial merchandise, some of which targeted children.

Owing to heavy online criticism, Meesho has now removed the Bishnoi t-shirts from its platform, a spokesperson for the company told Inc42.

“We have taken immediate action to deactivate the products. Meesho remains committed to providing a safe and trusted shopping platform  for all our users,” the spokesperson said.

The development follows a string of top level exits at Meesho, with its CXO of monetisation Harsh Chaudhary quitting in March after a two-year stint at the company. 

Last year, Utkrishta Kumar, chief experience officer at Meesho’s business division, stepped down from his role after a five-year tenure.

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho was the poster child of the social ecommerce startup. In 2022, it pivoted to a marketplace place to take on marketplace giants like Flipkart and Amazon.

The startup has raised around $1.36 Bn in funding to date from marquee investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund, Tiger Global Management and Peak XV, among others.

Notably, Meesho saw its operating revenue jump over 32% to 7,615 Cr in the financial year ending March 2024 (FY24), compared to INR 5,735 Cr in the previous fiscal year, on the back of robust growth in orders delivered.

 The company also managed to narrow its adjusted losses by almost 97% to INR 53 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,569 Cr recorded in the previous fiscal year.

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