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Adele accused of cultural appropriation for wearing Bantu knots and Jamaican flag bikini top

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Aug 31, 2020, 05:15 PM IST
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Singer Adele arrives at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, February 12, 2017. Photograph:(Reuters)

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In the photo, the singer was seen sporting a bikini top decorated with the Jamaican flag and wore her hair in Bantu knots, a traditional African hairstyle.

Singer Adele's latest Instagram post to mark the Notting Hill Carnival has not gone down well with many of her fans. The singer on Sunday posted a photo to pay tribute to the carnival which celebrates Caribbean culture every year since 1966. This year it was celebrated for the first time in virtual space.

"Happy what would be Notting Hill Carnival my beloved London 🇬🇧🇯🇲," Adele wrote in the photo's caption.

In the photo, the singer was seen sporting a bikini top decorated with the Jamaican flag and wore her hair in Bantu knots, a traditional African hairstyle.

Soon after, many slammed her for cultural appropriation.

"Dear white people, please just be yourselves and stop it for good with cultural appropriation," someone commented.

"Adele the bantu knots were unnecessary. The Jamaican flag bikini top was unnecessary... Please just stop it."

Another said that "black women are discriminated against for wearing cultural hairstyles like bantu knots and locs but white people are not, that’s not fair and that’s why people are pissed off."

Some, though, spoke in her favour and said it was not inappropriate of her to celebrate.

"I’m from the Caribbean and this is why we have festivals/carnival," one fan wrote. "For others to appreciate and celebrate our culture. Nothing inappropriate here."

"This made me smile. It shows the impact my little island has on the whole world. How influential we truly are," wrote another.