Rapper Apologizes for Performing in T-Shirt Featuring Swastika
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Slowthai shown on a jumbo screen while performing onstage at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival. Photo: Twitter.
British rapper Slowthai apologized for wearing an “anti-fascist” T-shirt that featured the word “destroy” above a Nazi swastika during his performance at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday.
“I’m sorry to anyone who is offended by me wearing an anti-fascist/anti-regime t-shirt and the use of the symbol it represents,” the musician, whose real name is Tyron Kaymone Frampton, wrote in a Twitter post on Monday. “I want you to know I stand firmly against antisemitism and fascism of any kind, something the t-shirt was meant to illustrate with the word ‘destroy’ above the symbol.”
The T-shirt is similar to a series of shirts released by British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood in the 1970s as a statement against Nazism and fascism. Several of Westwood’s shirts are part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection and have been worn by the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten and The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, one Twitter user pointed out.
StopAntisemitism, a watchdog group, called Slowthai’s fashion choice “atrocious,” while Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) similarly denounced his decision to wear the shirt.
“While @slowthai’s intent at @osheaga may have been to denounce Nazism, the message was very badly executed,” the non-profit organization said. “This ambiguous display of the swastika was frightening for Jews and others and should never have made it to the stage.”
The music and arts festival addressed the controversy in its own statement released on Monday.
“A performer appeared on stage Saturday wearing a controversial T-shirt displaying a swastika that caused confusion,” the Osheaga festival said. “The T-shirt denounces the regime. We sincerely apologize to anyone who may have misinterpreted this message and felt hurt.”
However, FSWC called the apology “disappointing,” adding in a response to Osheaga on Twitter, “You won’t run the risk of confusion over your performers’ intentions if you simply do not allow them to display hate symbols on the stage.”
