J-pop act Mrs. Green Apple spikes ‘Columbus’ video after viewer backlash - One of the most successful bands in Japan, Green Apple, deleted due to a huge backlash a music video "Columbus" where they depicting themselves as explorers/conquerors and the native people they meet along the way as monkeys

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Mrs. Green Apple has posted an apology on its official website after backlash over a music video that portrayed explorer Christopher Columbus in a charming way. | SCREEN GRAB TAKEN FROM MRSGREENAPPLE.COM

Popular Japanese rock-pop band Mrs. Green Apple removed the music video for its new song, “Columbus,” from YouTube on Thursday, following claims of racism and ignorance leveled at the clip from users of social media. The video was online for less than a day.

“Columbus” found the three members of the group dressing up as famous individuals from throughout history, including the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, encountering characters resembling apes. Mrs. Green Apple then educates and seemingly controls the ape-like men, having them pull the trio around in carts and saluting them.

“Columbus” the song came out at midnight on Wednesday, with the video arriving later that night. Criticism came quickly. Users sounded off in the clip’s comments section and on social platform X, decrying the video as ignorant and bordering on racist.

The main problem appeared to be how this portrayal of Columbus, traditionally viewed as the navigator who discovered North America but who also brutalized indigenous communities of the continent, was grossly inaccurate. Others noted how the treatment of the apemen resembled colonization, and played into racist stereotypes.

Others went further, questioning whether the apemen characters were meant to be the “primitive” communities of other lands.

Around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Mrs. Green Apple removed the clip for “Columbus” from YouTube. The band posted a statement on its official website shortly after, apologizing for the video and explaining that its original intent was to present historical figures having a “fun house party.”

The planning director for the “Columbus” video was Mrs. Green Apple vocalist Motoki Ohmori. The song and video were part of The Coca-Cola Co.’s “Coke Studio” music initiative, which finds famous artists creating original songs and videos, often featuring Coke products in prime spots.

Mrs. Green Apple formed in 2013 and in recent years has become one of the biggest J-pop acts around. The trio consists of Ohmori, guitarist Hiroto Wakai and keyboardist Ryoka Fujisawa. They have sold out stadiums nationwide and appeared on NHK’s year-end “Kohaku Uta Gassen” music extravaganza, and the group has provided the theme songs to multiple popular anime series. The group’s song “Lilac” is currently the No. 1 song on Japanese streaming charts.

Mrs. Green Apple has expressed interest in taking its music overseas, and to that end the band established a company called Project-MGA in conjunction with Universal Music Group with the intent of expanding its activities to the rest of the world.

 

[CHARizard]

This song is great, I need to listen to more of these guys stuff, I am only familiar with the Fire Force OP.

 

[sum ting wong]

Isn't it ironic that the western twitter mob (colonizers) had to 'educate' the Japanese (native population) for being too edgy (savage).

 

[TheOtherOne]

Just watched it, this looks like they're just having fun? Seems to agree with what the band said in their statement.

The main problem appeared to be how this portrayal of Columbus, traditionally viewed as the navigator who discovered North America but who also brutalized indigenous communities of the continent, was grossly inaccurate. Others noted how the treatment of the apemen resembled colonization, and played into racist stereotypes.

"You have to show Columbus was super evil to the natives"
It's a music video with a fun song, they're not going to do that.

"I think the 'apemen' played into racist stereotypes and looked like colonization"
That's what you thought, so isn't that your problem? You need to 'unlearn' those 'racist assumptions,' right?

Not everything has to be so accurate to real life. Let them have their fun video while you cry on Twitter.

 

[The Feline Solution]

B-b-based nips. The three dudes still look like ladies, though.

"I think the 'apemen' played into racist stereotypes and looked like colonization"
That's what you thought, so isn't that your problem? You need to 'unlearn' those 'racist assumptions,' right?

It's always the people who pretend to be the least racist that come up with this over-the-top, unhinged kind of racist interpretation.

 

[Vect]

Isn't it ironic that the western twitter mob (colonizers) had to 'educate' the Japanese (native population) for being too edgy (savage).

Curiously, the backlash appears to be largely home-grown. This isn't butthurt Westerners, it's a lot of Japanese fans very politely but very pointedly expressing how it could be interpreted as offensive. Can Japanese speakers weigh in?

 

[Fields Of Rye]

Typical Americans, seeing the Japanese brutalize and monkeyfy a native population and assuming it’s anything but a metaphor for every interaction they’ve had with Korea

 

[TrinityReformed]

Why should they give a shit when you're shoving a nig who wasn't even a samurai down their throats?

 

[Telvanni]

I too am El Ogro de Las Americas and just laughed.

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

Come on, Japan never discovered or explored anything. They were shit eating barbarians until the Chinese gave them their entire culture.

 

[ddlloo]

I get it, Columbus was a coloniser and these are literal apes, yada yada yada it's on the nose.

But this is a Japanese band and it's just a silly music video. If it wasn't for the fact they want to branch out internationally I imagine they would have just ignored the crazies and kept the video up.

 

[OrionBalls]

I prefer girl bands. These guys look short enough to be in Minimoni. Not sexy.

 

[M3453dst324]

I'm glad that this overt and disgusting appropriation of European culture has been canceled.
Now I don't read weeb scripture but I'm sure that their apology to the Spaniards and Italian was more then satisfactory.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

It's always the people who pretend to be the least racist that come up with this over-the-top, unhinged kind of racist interpretation.

Projection is the favorite past time for these people. This is what happens when they have too much free time on their hands and don't touch grass.

 

[he who has thus come/gone]

This is among the least bad of things that the Japanese have contributed to the world.

 

[Jex]

It’s just how Japs interface with the world, they call people lighter than them waito piggu and they call people darker than them brack gorrira.

 

[Dead Gay Muppet Gangbang]

The main problem appeared to be how this portrayal of Columbus, traditionally viewed as the navigator who discovered North America but who also brutalized indigenous communities of the continent, was grossly inaccurate.

as an autist with too much time on my hands, I generally watch music videos for their historical accuracy

 

[JudyTester]

Curiously, the backlash appears to be largely home-grown. This isn't butthurt Westerners, it's a lot of Japanese fans very politely but very pointedly expressing how it could be interpreted as offensive. Can Japanese speakers weigh in?

Yep this news broke on Wednesday in Japan well before I remember seeing any English-speaking comments on their YouTube video or Twitter or anything. It was just a ton of Japanese people going "I'm not offended but I see how others could be", which is impossibly Japanese of them to be honest.

 

[Rabbi Palpenstein]

"Lets have a video game where a historical circus clown who was kept as a sword carrier and a source of amusement slaughters hordes of Japanese people, and don't you fucking DARE imply he wasn't a samurai you fucking racist"
But the Japs can't even get this? Why should they fucking care what Americans think when they've demonstrated 0 care about the Japanese and how they might feel about a video game where a nigger butchers Japanese folk?

 

[30+GameOvers]

Super based Japan cucking out to the Westerners telling them what they can and cannot do. Nothing new here, it's been happening for years. Can't make a fun little innocent music video, can't even have your own culture anymore when Westerners re-imagine it to be filled to the brim with niggers and homosexuals like the newest Assassin's Creed game.
These companies need to stop giving a shit what random degenerates on twitter have to say. They don't actually have any real power, remember the wizard game? They didn't stop it from becoming one of the top sellers of that year. They can kvetch and shout but none of it means anything if you just ignore them.