A Tennessee hat store that came under fire for advertising a yellow Star of David with the words "not vaccinated" written on it, has been forced to apologize.
Gigi Gaskins, owner of hatWRKS apologized after losing at least one business partner and provoking the threat of a boycott.
Gaskins originally defended her ad, saying that "I pay much more respect to history by standing up with the fallen than offering silence & compliance. That is the worst crime. It was then & is now."
She eventually retracted her statements and deleted the post advertising the $5 star badges after receiving intense backlash from the public.
“In NO WAY did I intend to trivialize the Star of David or disrespect what happened to millions of people,” read the unsigned apology post on the hatWRKS Instagram page.
“My hope was to share my genuine concern & fear and to do all that I can to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.
“I sincerely apologize for any insensitivity.”
“As a result of the offensive content and opinions shared by HatWRKS in Nashville, Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of all Stetson products,” the company wrote on Twitter.