German TV ousts rapper for Hitler salute

RTL kicks off hip-hop artist from "Jungle Camp" reality show for making Nazi gesture to the cameras.

DJ Tomekk 224.88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
DJ Tomekk 224.88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
A hip-hop artist was thrown off the German reality TV show "Jungle Camp" for giving the stiff-armed Hitler salute to the cameras, RTL television said Wednesday. DJ Tomekk, a 31-year-old Polish-born disc jockey who lives in Berlin, was thrown off the show on Tuesday night, the television network said in a statement. "There are serious accusations against Tomekk," RTL said. "In a video that RTL has he can be seen giving the Hitler salute." On Tomekk's Web site, a short posting dated Wednesday said simply that the artist - whose real name is Tomasz Kuklicz - was on his way home from Australia where the reality show is being filmed, and would make a statement once back in Berlin. On RTL's Web site, however, he is quoted as saying that he was "anything but xenophobic." "I haven't seen the video personally and don't know what's on it (but) I have heard through a third party that there is allegedly a Hitler salute on it," he was quoted as saying. "There's no way I can explain this at the moment. Particularly not as anything meant seriously." Giving the Hitler salute is illegal in Germany, but since the video was shot in Australia, it was unclear whether Tomekk could face any legal repercussions.