The developer for the game “Angry Trayvon” – a play on words of the popular “Angry Birds” game – said the game has been removed from app stores following complaints that the game was racist.
Trayvon Martin is the 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman in Florida, in February 2012.
The game featured a main character that wore a hoodie, held a baseball bat and attacked other characters.
After the game launched a small petition on Change.org was created demanding Google Play remove the game from the app store.
“This application unnecessarily promotes violence and exploits the unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin,” T.L. Rowe, the petition’s creator wrote on Change. Org. “…This developer is using the Google Marketplace to exploit the death of an unarmed teen for profit while simultaneously promoting violence. Given the racial and social climate surrounding the issue and the unfair depiction of a deceased minor who perished as a result of gun violence, we are asking that this application be moved from the Google play marketplace immediately.”
According to a report from Fast Company, the “Angry Trayvon” game went on sale last Christmas.
“The people spoke out therefore this game was removed from the app stores,” TradeDigital said in a statement on the app’s Facebook page. “…This was by no means a racist game. Nonetheless, it was removed as will this page and anything associated with the game will be removed.”
Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant
