Slovakia: Rapper Rytmus condemns TV moderator - "Hitler would be proud of her"

The popular rapper named Rytmus has harshly criticized Slovak TV anchor Kristína Kormúthová for publishing a racist status update tartgeting Romani people on her Facebook profile. Kormúthová has had to leave public broadcaster RTVS because of the message and will no longer be the face of a fashion show to be held in Bratislava as part of the International Gypsy Fest there.

Other Romani artists are also criticizing the former anchor. Kormúthová published the following racist status update to Facebook:  "Some prematurely-born stinking Gypsy steals a four-meter drainpipe from your house, it’s so Slovak. Why can’t we hunters shoot them like the pests they are?" 

"I would like to apologize to her for my being a Rom. I hope she won’t shoot me. I also hope my unborn child won’t get a bullet to the head because of our Romani blood either," Rytmus told the online edition of Slovak daily Nový Čas.

"This is a woman, who is definitely an exemplary mother, saying she wants to take the life of everyone who has a different skin color than she does. What can I say? RTVS employs exemplary racists. Hitler would certainly be proud of her," Rytmus said just before the public broadcaster ended its contract with Kormúthová.

"It’s contemptible – theft is a crime, but we have legitimate laws for such cases. A statement like ‘Let’s shoot the stinking Gypsies’ is what you expect from the lowest possible class of person, not coming from the mouth of a lady who holds a certain post," Silvia Šarköziová of the band Cigánski Diabli told Nový Čas.   

"She has reason to be upset. However, I definitely would never point my finger at someone and say he needs to be shot dead. I rather believe it is important to find work for those who have to do such inferior things as stealing drainpipes," Igor Kmeťo, Jr commented.  

"I think calling for the shooting of people for stealing a piece of iron is strong words indeed. This is an image of how the Slovak nation addresses the Romani situation. I won’t stand up for the guy [who stole], but it would interest me to know – if he hadn’t been Romani, would she have written that we can go ahead and shoot him? Anger has its limits too. Through those strong words, she incites the real racists, who do much worse things," singer Anita Soul said.  

"If she had the feeling that someone from that community had caused her harm, she should address it with that specific person. She shouldn’t tar everyone with the same brush," Richard "Ricco" Šarközi, a finalist on the X Factor competition, told Nový Čas.