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

The singer's touring company designed necklaces for her El Dorado World Tour

Live Nation apologises for designing necklace for Shakira's tour that appeared to have Nazi-inspired imagery. (Getty Images)

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.