The British rapper Slowthai apologized for donning an “anti-fascist” T-shirt with the word “destroy” above a Nazi swastika during his July 30 performance at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal.
“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,” tweeted the 27-year-old musician, whose real name is Tyron Kaymone Frampton, on Monday.
His stage moniker apparently originates from his childhood nickname given to him due to his slow speech and drawled tone: “slow ty.”
“I want you to know I stand firmly against anti-Semitism and fascism of any kind, something the T-shirt was meant to illustrate with the word ‘destroy’ above the symbol,” he said.
https://twitter.com/slowthai/status/1554156988849967106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1554156988849967106%7Ctwgr%5E91f5138162d0c4192ab1aedbf5e565754a3563ef%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Fmusic%2Fslowthai-apologises-for-confusing-fans-with-anti-fascist-t-shirt-that-bears-nazi-swastika-3281407
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted in response: While @slowthai’s intent at @osheaga may have been to denounce Nazism, the message was very badly executed.”
“This ambiguous display of the swastika was frightening for Jews and others and should never have made it to the stage,” said the statement.
https://twitter.com/CanadianFSWC/status/1553818769641934855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1553818769641934855%7Ctwgr%5E33af8a10b4bc261f1bb7f45459a131fcb0ac2da0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailyhive.com%2Fvancouver%2Fosheaga-slowthai-shirt
