By James O’Toole
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Fashion designer Kenneth Cole has once again drawn the ire of the Internet with a tweet making light of the Syrian conflict.
With the debate over America’s potential intervention in the Syrian civil war raging, on Thursday the shoe guru tweeted from his personal account: “‘Boots on the ground’ or not, let’s not forget about sandals, pumps and loafers. #Footwear”.
The reaction online was swift, with legions of Twitter users branding Cole insensitive.
“Mocking war to sell fashion? Really?” one user tweeted.
“Terrible. And not the first time,” another wrote.
Cole has indeed caused controversy on several occasions with his provocative tweets. In 2011, as protests escalated in Egypt, he wrote: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online… -KC.”
He later deleted this tweet and apologized, calling it “insensitive.”
In April, after the Senate failed to pass legislation to expand background checks on gun buyers, Cole tweeted a link to an ad stating “Regardless of the right to bear arms, we in no way condone the right to bare feet.”
A Kenneth Cole spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Cole is the chairman and chief creative officer at Kenneth Cole Productions, which designs and sells a variety of footwear, bags and accessories. His Twitter bio describes him as a “Designer, Aspiring Humanitarian, Frustrated Activist, Social Networker In training.”
The-CNN-Wire
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