‘It’s obviously a joke’: Store owner defends ‘Wife Basher’ T-shirt displayed in window

A store owner has defended a “Wife Basher” T-shirt on display in his window amid complaints it condones domestic violence.

A West Australian store owner has defended a “Wife Basher” T-shirt on display amid complaints it condones domestic violence.

Anthony Hiscox, owner of Krazy Tees in Mandurah, 70km south of Perth, told the Mandurah Mail he had no plans to remove the shirt despite community sensitivity in the wake of the Hannah Clarke murders in Brisbane.

“Obviously it’s a joke,” Mr Hiscox told the Mandurah Mail.

The T-shirt sports the logo of the now-shuttered Swan Brewery in Perth, which made the Swan and Emu beer brands before production was shifted to South Australia in 2014.

Spotted in the window of Krazy Teez. Picture: Mandurah Mail

Krazy Teez owner Anthony Hiscox. Picture: Facebook

“We’re certainly not trying to glorify anything — at the end of the day it’s a T-shirt, and that’s the old nickname for Emu Export,” Mr Hiscox told the paper.

“We haven’t received any formal complaints to the store.”

The Mandurah Mail was first alerted to the T-shirt by a local resident. “Domestic violence is never okay – in fact, it’s something that any society should have zero tolerance for,” she said.

“To see this T-shirt in a shop front window this week of all weeks, in the face of the Brisbane car fire femicide and those poor children murdered is simply dreadful. What type of person would deliberately dress a mannequin in that and put it in the window?”

Mr Hiscox has been contacted for comment.

The Krazy Teez Facebook page has been bombarded with angry reviews.

“This guy sells T-shirts with slogans that promote violence against women,” one woman wrote. Another said, “I can’t recommend any store that promotes or normalises violence against women. Violence against women is not a joke.”

Krazy Teez responded to each by citing the Macquarie Dictionary’s Australian Word Map, which defines “wife basher” in the “South West of WA as a full-strength alcohol beer (Emu Export)”.

A spokeswoman for drinks giant Lion, which owns the beer brand, said the company “does not condone the messages being conveyed, nor did Lion approve of its brands being used for these purposes”.

It’s understood Lion will be writing to Mr Hiscox to request him to remove the items.

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