!chuds

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.