Nashville hat store issues apology after owner wears yellow patch resembling Star of David in Instagram post

hatWRKS Hat shop protest

Posted: May 30, 2021 / 02:00 PM AST

Updated: May 30, 2021 / 01:05 PM AST

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The owner of a Nashville hat store issued an apology following a controversial post on Instagram.

The hatWRKS hat shop in Nashville is on 8th Ave S. and the owner posted to Instagram on Friday wearing a yellow patch resembling the Star of David that read the words “not vaccinated”.

The post was later deleted from the account after several people commented saying it was offensive. Following the post, protestors surrounded the store on Saturday holding signs of disapproval.

hatWRKS Hat shop protest on May 29, 2021

Well-known companies also reacted to the post. Stetson is a company which sells hats, boots, western apparel, eyewear, and fragrance. They made a public comment about the incident on Twitter. In a follow-up tweeted Saturday, Stetson made the announcement they and their distribution partners will be ending the sale of all Stetson products with the store.

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. We thank you for your continued support and patience.
— John B. Stetson (@StetsonUSA) May 29, 2021

Goorin Bros., a global hat brand Since 1895, also responded on social media with the following tweet:

We are currently aware of the situation at hand. Thank you to everyone for bringing this to our attention! We are currently looking into to this internally.
— Goorin Bros. (@GoorinBros) May 29, 2021

In an update, the company tweeted they did not condone the views of the store owner and stated they are investigating what actions need to be taken.

To be clear, we do not condone or agree with the views of this individual. We are investigating internally what actions can be taken and how quickly.
— Goorin Bros. (@GoorinBros) May 29, 2021

The owner of hatWRKS hat shop posted an apology to Instagram Saturday. The post included the following message, “In NO WAY did I intend to trivialize the Star of David or disrespect what happened to millions of people. That is not who I am & what I stand for. My intent was not to exploit or make a profit. My hope was to share my genuine concern & fear, and to do all that I can to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again. I sincerely apologize for any insensitivity.”