Putin Aide's Wife Sparks Outrage With Holocaust-Themed Ice-Dancing Performance
3:12 PM PST 11/27/2016 by THR staff
Tatiana Navka, wife of Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, performed in a striped concentration camp uniform with the Star of David.
A Holocaust-themed ice-dancing routine performed on the Russian television show Ice Age is drawing criticism after featuring the wife of Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov. According to CBS News, Tatiana Navka, who is also a former Olympic figure skating champion, performed the routine with actor Aundrey Burkovsky.
The pair performed in striped concentration camp uniforms with the Star of David to the song "Beautiful That Way," which was also featured in the Holocaust movie Life Is Beautiful. The reality TV show, similar to Dancing With the Stars, pairs professional skaters with celebrities.
Following her performance, Navka posted photos from the show on her Instagram account, which drew critical comments from users including one who wrote, "You should be ashamed of yourself."
A photo posted by Tatiana Navka (@tatiana_navka) on
The performance sparked responses on Twitter from Sarah Silverman, Michael Ian Black, members of the media and more. Silverman tweeted, "Oh those whacky Holocaust victims (OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD)."
Oh those whacky Holocaust victims (OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD) https://t.co/mzn441sQZD
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) November 27, 2016
This might be offensive if they hadn't take such great care to recreate all the wonderful ice dancing going on at Aushwitz at the time. https://t.co/Nz0iDHqili
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) November 27, 2016
What the actual what. Tatyana Navka's Holocaust-themed Ice Capades on Russian national TV (ace spotter: @yashar) https://t.co/RpeuAFNU2I
— Nathan Hodge (@nohodge) November 27, 2016
This is staggeringly offensive https://t.co/aw2UiqalDz
— Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) November 27, 2016
The Jerusalem Post called the performance "chilling." It also reported that this wasn't the first controversial performance. In April, the show featured a routine with a Nazi officer looking for a young Jewish girl who was hiding behind a piano.
Watch the performance from Saturday night below.
