12 Years a Slave Mannequin
The mannequin was displayed in a Heyford Hill branch of Sainbury's Twitter

Sainsbury's has apologised after an Oxford branch of the supermarket giant dressed a mannequin in clothing similar to the main character in the Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave as part of a DVD promotion.

Pictures on social media showed the headless dummy wearing a torn white shirt and black trousers similar to those worn by the film's protagonist Solomon Northup, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, adjacent to a display of the DVDs.

Steve McQueen's film tells the true story of how Northup was abducted and forced into slavery for 12 years in 1841 despite being a free man.

A price tag on the mannequin referred to the price of the DVD rather than the cost of the outfit, suggesting the items were never actually on sale at the supermarket.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "We can only apologise. It's been taken down from the Heyford Hill store and clearly should never have gone up in the first place."

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