German Twitch streamer MontanaBlack slammed over controversial NFT
Montanablack88 / Kongdo ClubGerman Twitch streamer ‘MontanaBlack88’ has been blasted for promoting an NFT giveaway with controversial imagery plainly seen in the background.
The popular broadcaster collaborated with Kongdo Club, a Non-Fungible Tokens creator which specializes in ‘Kong’-inspired riffs on different characters, for its next drop of tokens.
But people were taken aback after noticing the company was largely displaying a swastika on its giveaway image.
Content warning: Sensitive images below
On January 18, MontanaBlack88 tweeted out a message that included the batch of NFTs, with insensitive historical imagery on its design. The ‘Kong’ artwork can be seen wearing a swastika armband.
via Montanablack88 TwitterAlthough the NFT in question wasn’t a part of the promotion, people were startled to see the armband prominently featured in the design of the giveaway.
monti vllt mal kurzes objektives statement zu dem verstecken nationalsozialistischen zeichen in dem nft giveway, habe mich mal bisschen informiert und konnte nichts mehr dazu finden jedoch kommt es mir trz sehr suspekt vor, vllt hast du es nicht bemerkt was nicht grade gut wäre
— Moneyboys_Sohn (@SohnMoneyboys) January 18, 2022
WTF is this!?!?@MontanaBlack https://t.co/zm3mS7MWh9
— Max(imum) Discipline || Road to Viking Body (@AlzackConnel) January 18, 2022
“Boy, you can’t make it up,” a translated tweet said in the replies. “Just advertising for a monkey with a swastika armband.”
MontanaBlack Instagram / Kongdo ClubAs the image circulated online, people were slamming MontanaBlack’s involvement with the NFTs.
MontanaBlack responds to NFT backlash
https://twitter.com/dstNjs/status/1483531262618918912
The streamer soon deleted his post after it started to gain traction but drew more ire from his comments on Twitch after the debacle.
“Personally, I probably wouldn’t have deleted it,” MontanaBlack said in a translated Twitch clip. “It’s also part of history. Just because there’s a swastika somewhere doesn’t mean everyone salutes, stands at attention, and greets Adolf.”
Kongdo Club released a statement on the NFT and clarified that the Twitch streamer had no connection in making the image.
“MontanaBlack had no involvement in the art,” Kongdo Club said. “He was paid to promote the project and there is no affiliation with the art creation.”
Kongdo Club TwitterThe company also said that they would remove any more depictions of the swastika from their art.
“To clarify the swastika on our art, we had no intention of releasing this with any hate speech,” the company said. “It has been removed from all art and we deeply apologize for this confusion
“We at the team want to make sure everyone feels comfortable. All depiction of this has been removed permanently.”
Hours after releasing the statement, the official site still prominently displays at least three different instances promoting an Kong with the armband.