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International Skating Union apologizes after nominating ‘offensive’ Auschwitz uniform for best costume

The International Skating Union (ISU) has issued an apology after nominating a Russian skater for “best costume” after he wore an ensemble made to look like a Holocaust concentration camp prisoner’s uniform. The ISU says the nomination was made in error.

Anton Shulepov is the 23-year-old skater who is under scrutiny over what people are calling an “offensive” costume choice. The outfit in question features a yellow Star of David, resembling the one that Jewish people were forced to wear during the Holocaust, over a striped pattern that looks like the uniform that prisoners wore at Auschwitz and other concentration camps, where over six million Jews were killed. Shulepov wore the costume for two competitions in November while skating to a song from the 1994 film Schindler’s List.

The costume received negative attention on social media after Shulepov first wore it during a free skate at the Internationaux de France in early November; he wore it again for a competition in Japan later in the month. However, the latest outcry results from the ISU’s decision to include the controversial look in a roundup presented for public voting in the category for “best costume” on Sunday.

As of Monday morning, the ISU issued an apology on Twitter for what it said was an “error,” in an attempt to nominate Shulepov for a different costume worn for a short program.

Still, people continued to speak out against the organization for nominating Shulepov in the first place. Some even wrote that the incident points to a larger issue.

The ISU didn’t immediately reply to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. Yahoo Lifestyle’s attempts to reach Shulepov and his coach, ‎Kirill Davydenko, were not immediately successful.

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Jonathan A Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, provided the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle:

“While we understand the need for skaters to be creative in their choice of costumes, Anton Shulepov’s apparent decision to evoke painful Holocaust imagery as part of his routine was insensitive and offensive. We are surprised that the International Skating Union initially posted a picture of this costume as a nominee for ‘costume of the year.’ Yellow Stars of David or other concentration camp imagery has no place in figure skating.”

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