A T-shirt design that was deemed distasteful by many might have cost Chris Pratt some of his current reputation and good standing in the eye of the public.
New reports indicate that many people have been taken aback by the actor’s decision to go out wearing a T-shirt that showed a graphic design combining the Gadsden flag (a symbol of the American Revolution), and the current US flag.
The Gadsden flag featured a rattlesnake with the words “Don’t Tread on Me” attached.
And while the symbol does have innocent connotations — most notably being used by the US Men’s soccer team — it is also associated with certain questionable elements of society.
Various far-right groups have reportedly taken a liking to the symbol in recent times and have adopted it for their own purposes.
Other reports have pointed out that the symbol could be used to convey inappropriate messages, more specifically racially charged ones.
Many people immediately jumped on social media to express their disappointment in Pratt’s choice, calling him out for the decision to wear a T-shirt which he should have known would be provocative.
Nice shirt… Only people I see with that flag are alt-right racists…. pic.twitter.com/0sUfv6Ghki
— chomp?sky (@chompsky5) July 17, 2019
Not everyone was that negative; however, as some have also been defending the actor, pointing out that he did not have any obvious negative intentions with the decision to wear the T-shirt.
Some have also reminded commenters that the design is authorized for official use by the US Navy, further taking away from the validity of comments implying that Pratt could have meant something negative with the T-shirt.
Moreover, Katherine Schwarzenegger‘s 39-year-old husband likes to make statements with his shirts. In the past, he has been spotted with messages like “hearts BJ,” “Godfidence,” “Jesus Loves You!” and “Freedom” while out and about in Hollywood.
Pratt’s T-shirt with white supremacy ties has sparked a real political debate on social media, with conservatives and liberals going at it over the meaning of the move.
One backer wrote: “You know, just because hate groups, a minority, use a symbol or flag to associate themselves with it doesn’t make it a hate symbol. Rather than easily declaring it a hate symbol, why don’t people fight against that and not give in to the hate? The KKK, Nazis, and tons of other groups have used symbols. They carried a US Flag sometimes. Does that mean our flag is a hate symbol? No.”
A second supporter added: “Funny everyone wants to hate on your “don’t tread on me” shirt when they themselves were just using it to promote abortion…..”
A third person added: “A large, patriotic family in Texas stands behind you and your right to proudly wear Old Glory! Don’t let em get you down!”
Pratt himself has not commented on the brief outrage. His savvy mixture of patriotism and religion is slowly turning him into a hero for right-leaning voices in this country.
