Danish poet apologises after wearing controversial Serbian nationalist T-shirt on live TV

A Danish poet has issued an apology after appearing on a live DR television programme wearing a T-shirt linked to a far-right Serbian nationalist movement, sparking widespread outrage, DR reports.

Frederik Lind Køppen participated in Deadline on 13 May for what was intended as a discussion on literature and poetry. Instead, his choice of clothing—a T-shirt bearing Cyrillic text reading “Serbian Chetnik”—drew immediate criticism. The phrase references the Chetnik movement, a Serbian nationalist group associated with extreme nationalism and historical atrocities.

In an interview with Deadline following the broadcast, Lind Køppen stated he was unaware of the T-shirt’s significance. “It’s a shirt I bought on the equivalent of Strøget in Belgrade, in a tourist shop,” he said. “There was no political intent behind it. For me, it’s just a nice T-shirt with some Cyrillic writing. I wasn’t taking a stand on anything at all.”

He admitted to having only limited knowledge of the movement, saying, “I don’t know much about this group. The only thing I understood was that they fought for Serbian independence under the Ottomans before the empire fell.”

The incident provoked strong reactions, particularly among Bosnian communities in Denmark. Bosnian-Danish author Dino Copelj condemned the T-shirt on Facebook, writing: “Many Bosnians in Denmark were met with a disturbing sight on DR—a Danish right-wing poet wearing a shirt representing a Serbian ultranationalist ideology responsible for the Srebrenica genocide and the mass extermination of Muslims during WWII and the 1990s.”

Lind Køppen expressed understanding for the backlash and offered a formal apology to the Bosnian community in Denmark. “I want to apologise because this concerns something very serious. I didn’t have insight into these things, and I don’t want anyone to feel offended,” he said. He reiterated that he has no ties to Serbia beyond an interest in the region.

DR has also faced criticism for allowing the T-shirt to appear on air without context. Jonathan Kargaard, programme editor for Deadline, acknowledged that the production team was unaware of the symbolism during the live broadcast. “If we had known the meaning, we would have addressed it journalistically and provided viewers with the necessary context,” he said.

Kargaard added that DR does not maintain a fixed list of banned symbols but aims to ensure proper journalistic treatment when politically or extremist-linked imagery appears. “We understand that some viewers reacted strongly. The editorial team should have given more context during the programme,” he said, noting that DR has since updated the programme’s online information to clarify the incident.