Bob Dylan charged with inciting hate

The French government has filed preliminary charges against Bob Dylan after comments in a 2012 Rolling Stone interview upset the country’s Croatian community.

"If you got a slave master or Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that," Dylan said. "That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood."

A complaint was subsequently lodged against Dylan and Rolling Stone's French publisher by the Representative Council of the Croatian Community and Institutions. “You cannot equate Croatian [war] criminals with all Croats," said the group’s secretary general, Vlatko Maric.

On Tuesday, it was announced that charges had been filed by the French government. A lawyer told the Associated Press that the CRICCF was seeking an apology from Mr. Dylan.

Ironically, Dylan was awarded the French Legion of Honour in Paris only a few weeks ago, tarnishing the spotless record established by previous recipients like Walt Disney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Lewis.