On Wednesday's episode of Bravo's Top Chef: New York reality show, “cheftestant” Stefan Richter could be seen wearing a red T-shirt with a gold hammer & sickle -- the emblem of Soviet totalitarianism which oppressed hundreds of millions and murdered tens of millions -- inside a gold-outlined Red Army star, matching the colors and symbols on the Soviet flag. In the scene on the NBC-owned Bravo cable channel, Richter, owner of Stefan's European Catering in Santa Monica, California, was lighting up a cigarette as he argued with some other chefs in his contestant group over the elements of a meal menu.
This isn't the first time an NBC show has featured someone sporting the pro-Soviet communist shirt. Back in April of 2006, an entertainment reporter wore the very same shirt over two nights on the NBC-produced Access Hollywood.
Bravo's bio for Richter reports he's a native of a country long in the shadow of Soviet communism: “Stefan was born in Finland but spent the majority of his childhood in Germany” and in 1998 he was “part of the creative team for the opening of the Bellagio Hotel, Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.”
My April 18, 2006 NewsBusters item, posted with video, “Soviet Communism as Fashion Statement -- Again,” recounted:
On Monday, for the second straight weekday, Access Hollywood's New York correspondent, Tim Vincent, a veteran of the BBC, sported a hammer and sickle T-shirt as he introduced a story. Just as on Friday's show, as documented in an April 15 NewsBusters item, though he wore a jacket over the red shirt with the symbol of the regime which murdered tens of millions and oppressed hundreds of millions more for decades, a gold hammer and sickle was clearly visible inside a gold-outlined red star which, sans the hammer and sickle, would match the Soviet's Red Army emblem...
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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Comments Policy
Well it looks to me with
January 15, 2009 - 02:07 ET by bigtimerWell it looks to me with time, little by little the msm is going to make this as the normal...no need to be upset, get offended...pretty soon there will be get these Tee-Shirts NOW in the ShamWow type of ads...no need to be angry...smile...be happy.
You've gone beyond the law"... Sen. Kerry~ Head of Foreign Relations Committee to Hillary at Sec.of State confirmation hearings~1-13-09
If he were wearing a shirt
January 15, 2009 - 07:27 ET by motherbeltIf he were wearing a shirt with an American flag they probably would have made him change it.
I actually watched that show last night and he was a complete jerk! Not surprised that he admires a totalitarian government; he refused to accept any ideas from his teammates and said (paraphrasing) That's it, I'm done! Nothing is getting changed!!
idiots.
January 15, 2009 - 08:09 ET by dronetekIf these people really want communisim, let them try and force it on people. I hope they're ready for a fight.
Soviet Stefan
January 15, 2009 - 07:48 ET by Tim GrahamIt's funny how Bravo likes it when the chefs fight with each other, but nobody would say a word about this shirt. It should be seen as about as sensitive as wearing a Swastika T-shirt. Don't they ever think there might be Soviet emigres or victims of communism watching?
Well Stefan
January 15, 2009 - 03:19 ET by well99Is a horse's a## anyways.I watch the show and he reminds me of the stuff you scrape off your foot after walking thru the pasture.
Yeah, he's really kind of
January 15, 2009 - 08:30 ET by JasonCYeah, he's really kind of developing as the a$$hole everyone hates; kind of like Lisa last season. I'd be very surprised if he didn't make it to the finals though, the man can clearly cook. Fabio seems to be the likeable European. But they're probably the two most consistently successful ones on the show.
As for the shirt...shrug...you can equate it to the swastika pretty effectively if you want, but the simple truth is that our culture-at-large interprets the symbols very differently. If someone from a former Soviet bloc area wants to wear a tiny communist symbol on his t-shirt (and I imagine he sees it as ironic), I don't think it's really my place to pass judgment.
Jason
January 15, 2009 - 08:41 ET by well99To be truthful I cant stand him but he will be in the finals.He can cook but he's is a jerk.As far as the shirt well he is showing his stupidy.He is a Finn supposedly and they were invaded by the Soviets during WW2.Just a note I think tonight was his first win besides 3 quickfires.The gal they let go tonight had 3 wins but they dropped her.All her's were from the challenges.
I'm pretty sure Ariane only
January 15, 2009 - 09:02 ET by JasonCI'm pretty sure Ariane only had two elimination wins (the live cooking demo and one other, can't remember) plus one quickfire win (the one Martha Stewart judged). Stefan won the very first elimination, on the first episode of the season.
Anyway, despite her successes, Ariane also had a tendency to screw up really badly (remember Padma spit out the dessert she made?!) On last night's show, Tom mentioned something I'd always kind of wondered about, that contestants are always judged solely on that day's challenge, that past triumphs or failures are not taken into account.
That said, I kind of thought Leah would get cut last night.
Opps forgot about Stefan
January 15, 2009 - 09:21 ET by well99Getting first win.Still Ariane won live cooking demo,thanksgiving dinner ,Lamb for Gails Bridal shower or whatever.
As far as them being judged solely on that day's challenge.They may say it but too often they dont.They are the most inconsistant judges I have ever seen.
She didn't win
January 15, 2009 - 09:34 ET by JasonCShe didn't win Thanksgiving, she was on the losing team, although it seemed like her dish was the best one on the losing team. Remember, they had to stay and clean up while the winners went to the concert? Hosea and Radikha won.
I agree about consistency, but really, it's like the most subjective contest ever. Plus the judges are always changing, and it seems like Collicho has excessive sway over the final decisions. And often, it seems like a delicious dish will be dismissed if it doesn't conform exactly to the specs of the challenge (fair enough, I suppose).
Jason
January 15, 2009 - 09:50 ET by well99I know she was on the losing team but I thought she won the challenge.I guess I am wrong.I know it is subjective but they they seem to change things all the time.They may say to challenge yourself then when someone does then say no you should of done it this way.I been watching for 4 years and they seem to change standards in the middle of the show.
Definitely. When Eugene
January 15, 2009 - 09:57 ET by JasonCDefinitely. When Eugene was at judges' table last week, he was like "I guess I got too daring and creative" and Tom said "Well if you thought it was so great, it's not really daring, is it?" Then when they axed him, they basically said "Your dish was really daring, but your skills are poor and it didn't work so you're gone."
Huh?
Jason
January 15, 2009 - 10:24 ET by well99They seem to do that alot.As far as wanting one thing then changeing midstream.It is ticks me off when they back pedal.Give the standards and stick to them.That way everyone has a clue to what is required.
Jason
January 15, 2009 - 10:26 ET by BlondeWhat Tom said was "Well if you cooked it before, it's not really daring"....Eugene had admitted he had the cooked radish/veggie combination before and like it (odd name, dicon?). Makes more sense that way, yes?
Anyway, I find it totally fascinating that many of us watch this reality show (I saw ten minutes of AI once, 'nuff said).
Also, not to be totally off topic here, I suspect Stephan was just ignorant about what was on his shirt....like a Che shirt wouldn't have surprised me on that jerk. And he is a jerk....they always have one, don't they? Also, I think he's worn it before, a poster here mentioned it last week...and last night's episode was new.
Agree with most about the judging too, odd sometimes. But it's still a fun show to watch. Lots of great ideas.
Blonde
January 15, 2009 - 19:47 ET by well99It is interesting.I dont watch much tv but I do fine the cooking shows(besides sweets) fun to watch.Also informative.I never used sea salt till I started watching Food Channel.The finals should be interesting.
Elitist Idiots
January 15, 2009 - 08:14 ET by NoJellyIt never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people can be in an information-rich society.
The hammer and sickle does not represent communism, it represents the most murderous, repressive scourge to ever inhabit the earth. Hitler might have gotten better press, but the Soviets are still the kings of mass murder.
This is no more or less the same ignorance that begets the Che worship.
These folks can have all the communism they want, it's just a 90 mile swim away...
I'm sorry?
January 15, 2009 - 09:40 ET by SQL_SamThis is media bias? come on people this is getting ridiculous. Dont start becoming a "look, what he's wearing" site or a "I heard someone say" kind of site either. People are aloud to be stupid, they are aloud to have bad taste, they are aloud to say anything they want. Who is starting to act like the "social" police now? I'm actually disturbed that this was posted here. Lets get to real MEDIA bias okay and not some dailykos "looky looky" crap.
I agree, but at least it's
January 15, 2009 - 09:42 ET by JasonCI agree, but at least it's given me a chance to chat about TC with a poster whom I normally disagree with.
must be a slow day
January 15, 2009 - 12:15 ET by mvfreemanGetting all worked up about a t-shirt is a bit much.
The Palin is a c*** shirts were over the line but this one has to filed under WFC.
This isn't the first time
January 15, 2009 - 10:38 ET by balboaThis isn't the first time an NBC show has featured someone sporting the
pro-Soviet communist shirt. Back in April of 2006, an entertainment
reporter wore the very same shirt over two nights on the NBC-produced
Access Hollywood.
Not really the same thing. And they're not "featuring" someone in a T-shirt; they're filming a group of chefs, one of which happens to be wearing the T-shirt.
a job
January 15, 2009 - 11:16 ET by RD KingLooks to me like the guy is auditioning for the post of White House chef if he is corrupt enough he'll probably make it.
Thanks to our media and our
January 15, 2009 - 12:20 ET by jdhawkThanks to our media and our laughable public education system, whenever someone wants to point out the most heinous of political entities, the most egregious human behavior, you are Hitler like or a Nazi.
Nevertheless, compared to Mao and Stalin, Hitler was a piker. And, the tyranny persist to this day in Russia and China.
But, who wants to view the stories of 70 million Chinese or 30 million Russians incarcerated, tortured, and murdered - most often by starvation on the big or little screen when you can view Tom Cruise in a movie like Valkyrie?
No one speaks for the 100 million human beings that were lost in the 20th century to the scourge of mankind - communism.
No one speaks for the several billion human beings still living in those totalitarian states.
It is certainly ironic that this "chef" - a person that makes food - would wear a shirt showing off the symbol of Soviet communism when it was the lack of food that most Russians died of at the hands of Stalin. What a cretin.