After suffering huge repercussions on the internet, punk group Dead Kennedys decided to take down a political poster made to promote an upcoming tour in Brazil. The polarized political mood that the country is experiencing influenced the decision.
Artist Christiano Suarez created the exclusive artwork to announce four shows that the band will play in May. In the image, a family with faces of Bozo the clown are dressed in Brazilian football team selection shirts and holding arms.
In the background, there are war tanks and a favela is on fire. One of the people says: “I love the smell of dead poor people in the morning.”
The internauts quickly started commenting on the clear allusion to president Jair Bolsonaro—who is called Bozo— and his voters.
According to people in the band’s camp, members of the band liked the art and guitarist Ray, sent a message to the artist praising his work.
The Instagram profile of the band posted the art, but then deleted it. Afterward, on Facebook, the band shared a note which said, “the published poster does not reflect a political declaration or position of the Dead Kennedys. The basic message of the band has been, and still is, to ask people to think for themselves and not tell them what to think,” said the deleted note. The text, written by the band’s communication team, was also deleted because it wasn’t approved by band members.
According to the production team, the band received "not very cordial emails from those who did not like the art and did not want to have anything to do with the poster."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon