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The now-deleted Instagram photo announcing the arrival of the US$5 patches showed a woman, reportedly the shop’s owner, wearing a yellow Star of David with 'not vaccinated' on it. Photo Instagram

Coronavirus: US shop selling Star of David-like ‘not vaccinated’ badges hit with social media backlash

  • HatWRKS in Tennessee was excoriated on social media and targeted by protesters after promoting a yellow star patch labelled ‘not vaccinated’
  • The controversy came the same week that a Republican congresswoman equated Covid-19 mask mandates with Nazis forcing Jews to wear yellow stars

A hat shop in the US state of Tennessee has been hit with backlash after promoting a yellow star patch like those worn by Jews in Nazi-era Germany, labelled “not vaccinated”.

It was the latest skirmish in the culture war surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations in the United States, which has suffered the highest death toll of any country in the pandemic.

Iconic American hatmaker Stetson said on Saturday it would no longer do business with the Nashville shop HatWRKS, which was excoriated on social media and targeted by protesters.

On Friday, HatWRKS shared on its Instagram account a now-deleted photo announcing the arrival of the US$5 patches. It showed a woman, reportedly the business owner, wearing a yellow Star of David with the message “not vaccinated” on her black T-shirt.

“Your Nazi star badges are perhaps the most offensive, anti-Semitic thing I’ve ever seen,” one user posted on the business’s Facebook page, summing up the social media outcry in response to the post, while others used the hashtag #HATEWORKS.

Local media showed a few dozen protesters outside the shop on Saturday, including some who held up a banner declaring “No Nazis in Nashville!”

And Stetson, known for its Western hats, said on Saturday that “as a result of the offensive content and opinions shared, Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of all Stetson products to HatWRKS in Nashville.”

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The business, which regularly posted content on social media expressing views against coronavirus restrictions and Democratic President Joe Biden, replaced its controversial post with another one addressing its critics.

“People are so outraged by my post? But are you outraged with the tyranny the world is experiencing?” it said. “If you don’t understand what is happening, that is on you, not me.”

The HatWRKS controversy came the same week that Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly equated Covid-19 mask mandates with Nazis forcing Jews to wear yellow stars.

“Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star,” the politician from Georgia tweeted about a business making its employees who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus wear a vaccination logo on their name badge.

She was sharply criticised by leaders of both political parties.

Biden on Friday deplored recent anti-Semitic attacks in the US, saying in a statement: “We cannot allow the toxic combination of hatred, dangerous lies, and conspiracy theories to put our fellow Americans at risk.”

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