UFC superstar Ronda Rousey used Instagram on Wednesday to fire back at Walmart after the commerce giant said it wouldn't carry her forthcoming autobiography on store shelves.
Rousey is an extremely popular mixed martial arts fighter whose celebrity appeal has recently spread beyond sports, thanks to her fighting ability, good looks and spunky personality. She has a role in the Hollywood blockbuster Furious 7, for example.
But all that's apparently not enough for Walmart to carry her book, called My Fight / Your Fight, in stores.
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A New York Post report said the mega-chain won't carry Rousey's book because "she's too violent." Given that Walmart sells guns and ammunition in its stores, this struck many as wildly hypocritical even though the Post report is unattributed.
Danit Marquardt, Walmart's director of corporate communications, declined to provide specifics about why the store won't carry Rousey's book on shelves.
"There are a variety of factors that we look at when determining what items to offer our customers," Marquardt said. "At this point, we’ve chosen to offer this particular title to our customers online. We will continue to watch how customers respond."
Walmart will sell the book through Walmart.com, and customers who buy it there can then pick up their copies at nearby store locations. Given her appeal to UFC fans as a dominant fighter, female athletes as a role model and drooling men as an attractive woman, Rousey's autobiography would seem to be a natural choice for prominent display. My Fight / Your Fight comes out May 12.
In the caption to her Wednesday Instagram post, Rousey said Walmart will likely come to regret its decision.
"'Success is the best revenge'" one of many lessons I learned from fighting that helped me fight through life's battles off the mat and outside the octagon," she wrote. "@walmart is welcome to watch the success of this publication from the sidelines if they choose."
A photo posted by rondarousey (@rondarousey) on Apr 8, 2015 at 10:59am PDT
The book details Rousey's dominance as a fighter as well as her personal life and tough childhood.
"Man fuck Walmart," an Instagram user called netslayer4216 commented below the post, likely speaking for Rousey fans everywhere.