Viet Cong Release Statement Regarding Name Controversy

Photo by David Waldman

Viet Cong have released a statement regarding the recent controversy over their band name. “We never intended for our name to be provocative or hurtful,” they write. Check it out below:

Our band, Viet Cong, has existed for a little over three years now. When we named ourselves, we were naive about the history of a war in a country we knew very little about. We now better understand the weight behind the words Viet Cong. While we don’t take any concerns about the name lightly, we feel it is important to let you know that we never meant to trivialize the atrocities or violence that occurred on both sides of the Vietnam War. We never intended for our name to be provocative or hurtful.

We truly appreciate the seriousness of the feedback we’ve received, and we will continue to be open to listening to issues and concerns from all perspectives.

With love from the band Viet Cong.

Previously, a Viet Cong show scheduled for March 14 at Oberlin College was canceled due to the band’s name, which the venue’s show promoter called “a name that deeply offends and hurts Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities.”

Earlier this month, Gang of Four also weighed in on the controversy, calling it “ridiculous,” “undemocratic,” and “anti-progressive.”

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