Urban Outfitters, surprisingly enough, is no stranger to controversy. Over the past year, the clothing company has come under fire numerous times for items that have been deemed 'offensive' and/or 'tasteless.'
The items in question--which include t-shirts featuring a drunken Jesus Christ, socks depicting the Hindu god Lord Ganesh, and a shirt that featured the word 'depression' as a fashion statement--have earned the ire of several different religions and interest groups recently.
Urban Outfitters seems intent on continuing this trend, as the company revealed its new 'Vintage Kent State' sweatshirt this past weekend.
On its own, the item doesn't sound that bad at all, but one glance at the shirt itself and it's easy to understand where the controversy began. The shirt, which features the Kent State University logo, has been stained and splattered in red, obviously to make the shirt look bloody. The item is clearly in reference to the Kent State shootings from the summer of 1970, and has already gained the attention of the media, with outraged individuals taking to social media in an attempt to have the shirt removed from circulation.
As of Monday morning, the Urban Outfitters site claimed the item was 'Sold Out,' though the company later admitted that the item had been pulled.
For those unaware (or weren't alive yet), the infamous Kent State shooting took place on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on Kent State University students. The students, all of whom were unarmed, were protesting President Nixon's Cambodian Campaign during the Vietnam war. The shooting took the lives of four students and wounded nine others, creating an immense backlash towards the U.S. government and its role in the Vietnam War. Some claim it was one of the inciting incidents for the massive 'anti-establishment' movement that we associate with the 1970's.
In a post on twitter, Urban Outfitters apologized for the item, claiming they "never meant to allude to the tragic events that took place," and that the stains and damage to the shirt were not created artificially.
