Live Nation apologises for Shakira tour merchandise that appeared to feature Nazi imagery

Shakira's touring company Live Nation has apologised after it designed a sun-inspired necklace for the musician that appeared to feature Nazi imagery.

In a statement on Twitter, it wrote: "The necklace Live Nation designed for Shakira's El Dorado World Tour was based on Pre-Columbian imagery. However, some fans have expressed concern that the design bears an unintentional resemblance to Neo-Nazi imagery. We sincerely apologise for this inadvertent similarity and have permanently pulled the item from the tour collection."

According to Newsweek, the symbol was first seen in a mosaic at the Wewelsburg Castle in Germany, which served as the Nazi regime's home base under the ruling of Heinrich Himmler, a Nazi close to Adolf Hitler.

Fans initially pointed out that the $9.95 necklace for sale on Shakira's fan website seemed to feature the "Black Sun" or "Sunwheel": a Nazi emblem that is composed of embedded hidden swastikas.

One Twitter user wrote, "So Shakira most likely accidentally put a Nazi symbol on her tour merch and didn't know it lmao."

Another commenter said, "Dear @shakira, you know that your necklace depicts an important Nazi symbol, propagated by the SS during the Nazi era? It was so popular that Himmler incorporated it into a floor of the Wewelsburg Castle to establish it as the 'centre of the New World.'

Similarities to the Nazi symbol were pointed out by the German news site Bento; they also said that neo-Nazis still use the "Black Sun" today.

Since backlash surfaced, Shakira's website has removed the item from the store and replaced it with a necklace of a different design.

Additional merchandise for the tour includes an iPhone case, a poster, a hat, a tote bag and additional products without an offensive symbol.

Shakira has not yet commented publicly on the incident.