Rapper A$AP Rocky has been accused of promoting terrorism after sharing an image in which he appears wearing a Z-shaped pendant made of tanks.
The 34-year-old star took to Instagram on Thursday to share the image promoting her first commercial link to Beats By Dre, however she was soon met with a barrage of criticism due to Russian links to the image.
Prior to his swift removal from the post, A$AP, real name Rakim Athelaston Myers, was accused of endorsing Vladimir Putin’s bombing of Ukraine by posting the image of the significant symbol which is laden with negative connotations.
The Z symbol has been used by Putin and his troops to promote their war against Ukraine and the mark has been dubbed the equivalent of Hitler’s swastika, something fans pointed out in a series of angry comments.
Some believe the sign is a shortened version of ‘Za pobedu’, meaning ‘For Victory’ and have noted its similarity to the swastika, the symbol used by Nazi Germany in World War II, dubbing Z ‘Putin’s swastika’.
Promotion: Rapper A$AP Rocky has been accused of promoting terrorism after sharing an image showing him wearing a Z-shaped pendant made of tanks
Ouch: The star, 34, took to Instagram on Thursday to share the image promoting his first commercial link to Beats By Dre, however he was soon met with a barrage of criticism due to Russian links to the image (pictured in February)
Terror: Prior to his swift removal from the post, A$AP, real name Rakim Athelaston Myers, was accused of endorsing Vladimir Putin’s bombing of Ukraine by posting the image of the significant symbol that is loaded with negative connotations (Putin pictured Thursday)
Comments under the post included: ‘You idiot… Shame on you… Support terrorism… Delete this… No more of your music on my headphones… Support genocide…
‘Do you understand what you did now?’…Apparently someone doesn’t read the news and because of that they will become an outcast to their fans…The new Kanye West?’
There is nothing to suggest that A$AP was aware of the sign’s connotations or in any way supports its meaning.
MailOnline has contacted A$AP representatives for comment.
In February last year, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war that began in 2014.
The invasion has killed tens of thousands on both sides, with Russian troops inflicting mass casualties of civilians and captured Ukrainian soldiers reporting frequent torture.
By June, around 8 million Ukrainians were internally displaced. More than 8.2 million fled the country in May 2023, Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II.
Extensive environmental damage, widely described as ecocide, contributed to the 2022 food crises.
In 2019, A$AP saluted Russia again with the release of her single Babushka Boi, after she began wearing a Babushka, a headscarf tied under the chin and traditionally worn by Russian women, after which Frank Ocean commented, ‘Babushka Boi.’
Shock: Fans were outraged by the post and shared a slew of comments.
Ahem: In 2019, A$AP saluted Russia again with the release of his single Babushka Boi, after he began wearing a Babushka, a headscarf tied under the chin and traditionally worn by Russian women, after which Frank Ocean commented: ‘Babushka Boi’ (pictured in 2019)
At the time, he was accused of cultural appropriation for sporting the item, with one Twitter user writing: “ASP Rocky wearing a babushka is cultural appropriation but no one says anything but Kim Kardashian naming her kimono brand is where people draw the line.”
While the word Babushka colloquially means a headscarf, the word means grandmother in Russian.
At the time, he was accused of cultural appropriation for sporting the item, with one Twitter user writing: “ASP Rocky wearing a babushka is cultural appropriation but no one says anything but Kim Kardashian names her brand kimono where people draw the line.”
The post comes after A$AP made headlines when it lashed out at clubgoers in May for fighting near his pregnant girlfriend Rihanna, with whom he shares 14-month-old son RZA Athelston Mayers.
In footage from a club, he can be heard saying, ‘You guys d—– act like gentlemen right now, ya hear? I have my lady here.
He continued: ‘Y’all d—– calm that down, man. Don’t be in the section doing all that shit. Calm down, calm down, you act like gentlemen when you’re in our presence.
Rihanna and Rocky began dating in 2020 after years of long friendship and musical collaboration.
Earlier this year, the Diamonds hitmaker revealed that she and Rocky were expecting their second child when she debuted a new bump during her Super Bowl halftime performance on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.
His love: The post comes after A$AP made headlines when it lashed out at clubgoers in May for fighting near his pregnant girlfriend Rihanna, with whom he shares 14-month-old son RZA Athelston Mayers.
