Doja Cat faced severe online criticism after sharing a photo on Instagram wearing a t-shirt featuring Sam Hyde, a figure infamous for his neo-Nazi beliefs on the internet. The image showed Hyde holding a firearm, and Doja Cat had not responded to the backlash at the time of writing.
Sam Hyde gained internet notoriety in the mid-2010s for his racist and homophobic stand-up acts, during which he made derogatory comments. He co-founded the comedy group Million Dollar Extreme, expressing support for alt-right and neo-Nazi groups. In 2017, Hyde donated $5000 to far-right content creator Andrew Anglin from the Daily Stormer, who faced legal action from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Hyde deliberately misidentified himself as the gunman in various mass shootings, becoming a meme on 4Chan. His picture was also found in the racist manifesto of the New York shooter who made headlines in May 2022 after a shooting incident in Buffalo.
After receiving backlash, Doja Cat removed the photo from her Instagram account.
