BENTONVILLE, Ark., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart has issued an apology, after its Web site recommended black-themed movies to buyers of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Planet of the Apes."
Wal-Mart, like other Web sites that sell or rent DVDs, has a computerized system that picks out recommendations.
"It's just simply not working correctly," said Mona Williams, Wal-Mart's vice president of corporate communications.
Buyers of DVDs of the "Planet of the Apes" series were urged to consider four movies, including "Martin Luther King: I Have A Dream/Assassination of MLK" and "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," the Washington Post reported.
The company issued its apology -- in which executives said they were "heartsick" about the glitch -- after a blog, Firedoglake, complained of the grouping of movies. The story spread quickly online.
