Chumbawamba and Universal Records have issued a statement following Virgin Megastores' decision to pull the band's multiplatinum-selling album, Tubthumper, off its shelves. |

Alice Nutter, singer for the anarchist British pop group, appeared on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher on Jan. 20 and implied that it's OK to shoplift. This then turned into a discussion about people stealing the group's album from Virgin Megastores.

The statement claims Nutter was goaded into talking about stealing by Maher as well as other panel members on the show when what she really wanted to talk about was the unequal class division in the world. "Some people have two houses and three cars, whereas others don't even have enough cash to see them through the week," Nutter said. "If you get $3.25 an hour then shoplifting is an understandable action."

Nutter then chided big businesses who close down factories in the United States and move to places like Mexico where labor is cheaper. "Big companies often take people's labor and don't give them a fair reward. They relocate to the Third World to make a bigger profit, yet the morality of that is considered acceptable ... whereas a person stealing a pair of Nike trainers (sneakers) isn't."

Although Virgin Megastores pulled Tubthumper from its display shelves based on what they consider to have been Nutter's statements, Universal said it was actually Maher who singled out the music retail chain. "We don't have a problem with Virgin's actions, they can feel outraged if they want," Nutter continued. "If we're going to talk about shoplifting, let's widen the debate and talk about why people steal, as opposed to just talking about Chumbawamba." (Ari Bendersky)