Article content

Walmart Inc. is pulling Cosmopolitan magazine from its checkout counters, bowing to pressure from an activist group that sees the publication’s racy covers as “sexploitation.”

The world’s largest retailer will now sell the Hearst Corp. publication just in its magazine aisle, spokesman Randy Hargrove said on Tuesday. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation — a group with roots in fighting pornography — said it had been working “behind the scenes” with the retailer for months on the decision, which makes Walmart’s checkout aisles “family friendly.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Walmart pulls Cosmopolitan from its checkout aisles after pressure from an anti-pornography group Back to video

“While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard,” Hargrove said in an email.

Walmart’s move comes amid rising sensitivity to sexism and gender discrimination. Internally, the firm has made gender diversity a bigger priority over the past decade, yet is still facing lawsuits from women who say they were denied opportunities for promotion.