A famous Japanese rock band has removed the music video for its new song “Columbus” after facing criticism for depicting Christopher Columbus with ape-like men.
The video was condemned as racist and discriminatory within hours after it was uploaded.
The video showed three historical figures, Columbus, Napoleon and Beethoven teaching ape-like beings various activities, such as riding horses and playing musical instruments.
Video Taken Down
The song video released by Mrs. Green Apple on Wednesday and was quickly taken down within hours following the backlash it received online.
Mrs. Green Apple, the band, apologized, admitting the video “contains expressions that lack understanding of historical and cultural backgrounds.”
In the video, the band’s three members, dressed as Columbus, Napoleon, and Beethoven, discover an island inhabited by ape-like people justifying colonialism and slavery, the critics said.
Critics on social media condemned the video as racist and accused it of affirming slavery.
One comment on X highlighted Columbus’s association with slavery and criticized scenes depicting the education of apes to look like natives.
