ASDA boys' sweatshirt that declares 'Boys Will Be Boys' accused of sexism

British supermarket and retailer ASDA is receiving backlash over a phrase on a boys' sweatshirt.

It was sparked by a woman, Debbie Dee, on Facebook. In a now-deleted rant posted by Daily Mail, she said:

Credit: Facebook/Daily Mail

"This is so damaging and we cannot possibly still be spouting this nonsense to our children," she remarked.

Dee continued her takedown in the comments, screenshot by Metro:

Credit: Facebook/Metro

This is the sweatshirt, now sold out on ASDA's site:

Credit: ASDA

She said she was not offended, but angry, and called the phrase "boys will be boys" problematic.

"It has historically and still is used to excuse bad behavior (in boys and men) like hitting, being destructive or boisterous," she said. "And even as far as excusing rape and sexual assault."

Dee said it doesn't matter if the shirt was made without that in mind. "But boys having their behavior excused like this from an early age," she said, "this message of being above the rules, it sticks."

The Daily Mail reported that before it was deleted, Dee's post went viral and racked up thousands of comments.