The past few months have seen quite a bit of controversy stirred over some questionable T-shirts. We all remember, rather unfortunately, the utterly tasteless T-shirt that one dimwitted Coachella punter sported at the most recent leg of the festival.

It was a T-shirt that put Coachella back in the headlines a week later, when a snap was taken of a festival stall that was selling a tee with a print that read, “Titties & Beer Thank God I Ain’t Queer!” However, the latest controversy is more symbolic.

As Complex reports, American clothing retailer PacSun has pulled one of its T-shirts from stores after it was deemed unpatriotic and offensive by a flood of online commentators. The item in question was part of a collaboration with rapper A$AP Rocky.

The offending tee depicts a black-and-white, upside-down American flag, something that’s been part of Rocky’s aesthetic since he dropped his first mixtape, Live. Love. ASAP, back in 2011, and that featured prominently in his stage set in 2012.

It’s probably worth noting at this point that it was recently Memorial Day in the US, so the country is currently feeling a surge of patriotism and it’s not hard to see why the T-shirt in question might offend some, including several military veterans who’ve commented on PacSun’s Facebook page.

“So disappointed with your disrespectful flag upside down. Recall the shirts and make it right,” wrote one commenter. “Very distasteful, disrespectful, and offensive to many Americans. You have insulted and disrespected an entire Nation of Americans- whom that Flag represents,” wrote another.

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After facing a deluge of criticism, with irate commenters basically hijacking their Facebook page, PacSun pulled the T-shirt, issuing a statement via their social media channels and thanking members of the US military for their service.

“As a retailer grounded in youth culture, PacSun values artistic and creative expression through the brands that we sell in our stores,” they write. “Out of respect for those who have put their lives on the line for our country, we have decided to stop selling the licensed flag t-shirt and are removing it from our stores and website immediately.”

Naturally, not everybody is on board with PacSun removing the T-shirt from their stores, with some defending Rocky, his right to free expression, and the artistic statement made by the shirt. “Keep it. It’s not disrespectful or unpatrotic [sic], the upside down flag is traditionally a sign of distress,” wrote one Facebook user.

Others still have accused those offended by the T-shirt’s imagery of hypocrisy, such as commenter Maria Del Mar Rosado, who suggested that those who aired their grievances with PacSun over the tee should then contact Congress about doing more for homeless veterans.

As a retailer grounded in youth culture, PacSun values artistic and creative expression through the brands that we sell…

Posted by PacSun on Monday, May 25, 2015

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