When it is it ok to use the Holocaust as a means of entertainment? Unless you’re making an emotional, poignant Oscar award winning film, the answer is pretty much never.
So two performers from the Russian version of Dancing with the Stars have discovered the hard way, after their holocaust themed routine was universally slammed for being insensitive and tasteless.
Tatiana Navka, who is married to Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and her skating partner Andrei Burkovsky wore concentration camp style uniforms with embroidered yellow stars during a performance on Russia’s Ice Age reality television show.
The act was based on the award-winning 1997 Italian film, “Life is Beautiful,” which tells the story of a Jewish father who tries to hide his son from the horrors of the Holocaust through humour and games.
Director of International Affairs at Australia’s Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, Jeremy Jones, told CNN the act had been “unbelievably tasteless”, CNN reported.
“The lack of thought that would have to go into making that decision is almost mind-blowing … Long after they’re forgotten as ice skaters they’ll be remember as people who sunk to such depths to get some celebrity,” he said.
Jones said he hoped the backlash to the routine would serve to remind the world of the horrors of the Holocaust.
The act also attracted harsh criticism on social media, with hundreds tweeting their shock and horror at the Holocaust-themed act.
US comedian Sarah Silverman tweeted, “Oh those whacky Holocaust victims (OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD).”
Navka defended her routine on social media saying she wanted to pay tribute to the film. “One of my favourite numbers! Inspired by one of my favourite films, “Life is Beautiful”! You must show your children this film,” she wrote. “Our children must know and remember about such terrible times that I hope, by the grace of God, they will never experience.”
