US rock band Bloodhound Gang enrage Russia with flag stunt

American rock group Bloodhound Gang was kicked out of a Russian music festival and pelted with eggs after videos emerged of its bass player shoving a Russian flag down his pants at a concert in Ukraine. Russian prosecutors are even considering whether to open a criminal case in the matter, which comes amid a rise in US-Russian tensions.

Videos posted online of Wednesday's concert in the Ukrainian city of Odessa show bass player Jared Hasselhoff pushing the Russian white, blue and red flag down the front of his pants and pulling it out the back. He then shouted: "Don't tell Putin," a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The incident outraged the Russian government. Maria Minina, a spokeswoman for the week-long Kubana festival in southern Russia, said that the band's headlining performance the previous evening had been cancelled because of its treatment of the flag.

The American band is known for its sexually explicit songs, including lyrics such as: "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel."

Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky tweeted: "Bloodhound Gang is packing its bags. These idiots will not perform in Kuban."

Hasselhoff was questioned on Saturday by police, according to the Russian Interior Ministry, which said prosecutors have been asked to decide if the musician could be charged with defaming the Russian flag.