Morrissey seems to have removed a new T-shirt he was selling after its design prompted a backlash from fans and the media.
The T-shirt featured lyrics taken from The Smiths’ 1986 song ‘Unloveable’: “I wear black on the outside/’Cause black is how I feel on the inside” which were arranged around an image of black author and civil rights activist James Baldwin.
Morrissey was planning to sell the shirts during his upcoming tour around North America, as well as on his online store, but it has since been taken off sale.
After the design was unveiled, many fans suggested it was “problematic”, with one writing “the Morrissey the less I like”.
Music press also attacked the merchandise.
Claire Lobernfield described it in the Factmag fanzine as “completely bone-headed, absurdly tone deaf, pretty much totally racist” and added: “This unadvisable tee will be available for purchase at Morrissey’s upcoming North American tour. But please don’t get it.”
Pitchfork said it was problematic while Billboard deemed it “all a bit uncomfortable, to be perfectly honest”.
Meanwhile publisher Melville House wrote on its website: “This particular shirt is a regrettable misfire of internet mash-up culture, in which the curated mingling of disparate words and images devalue one another, rather than enrich one another.
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