Ellen Ripley, the lead character of the Alien films, is one of the most iconic female heroes in cinema history. And today, during the celebration of the franchise of which she’s the star, her fans have been screwed over in an incredibly crappy way.
So yesterday was hailed as “Alien Day” because April 26 (that is, 4/26 in the backwards American dating system) matches the planet in the first two films, LV-426. One of the day’s most exciting promotions tied to “Alien Day” was Reebok’s decision to release a limited edition shoe based on the pair Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) wore in the movies. These shoes, called the “Alien Stompers”, went on sale at 2:00am AEST today (12:00pm EST 26 April) and quickly sold out.
It’s a shame they didn’t make more shoes available, but that’s fine. What isn’t fine is the discovery that when the shoes went on sale, they were only available in men’s sizes 8-12. Yes, the shoes worn by one of the most famous female characters in movie history were only released in men’s sizes.
Alien Stompers are finally on sale, but only MEN’s sizes. Shoes originally worn by a woman. Awesome. #reebok #AlienStomper
— Yaya Han (@YayaHan) April 26, 2016
LIVE via Reebok US !
Reebok Alien Stomper HiDIRECT LINKhttps://t.co/ga06GIpfhehttps://t.co/ga06GIpfhe pic.twitter.com/UEX5ezs6YJ
— SOLE LINKS (@SOLELINKS) April 26, 2016
As you can see there, the shoes were listed as “Men Classics”, which is a category on the Reebok website. The actual page is gone, because the shoes have sold out.
We contacted a representative for Reebok, who told us the following: “The Alien Stompers were released in men’s sizes due to retail demand.”
Adding insult to injury, Monday the Reebok Classic Twitter account said only 36 pairs were actually available, which is insane considering the company had been promoting this for weeks. However, that may have just been the United States, because a Reebok representative said, “426 pairs were available worldwide, to honour planet LV426 in the film.” But that’s all besides the point. This is horrible — and it seems incredible that no one at Reebok didn’t recognise the problem here.
Meanwhile, if you still want the shoes, scalpers have flooded eBay with them for hundreds and thousands of dollars. And have to be a dude, obviously.