On Sunday, Brooklyn Beckham got a new tattoo on his forearm. A day later, he’s fending off charges of cultural appropriation from Instagram users offended by his new Native American ink.
The tattoo is meant to honor his famous father, David Beckham, who has the same image under his left arm. Eighteen-year-old Brooklyn wrote in posts that his tattoo artist was “dad’s friend Mark Mahoney,” and that his was “just like dad’s.”
But his choice of tattoo—which depicted a Native American man in a tribal headdress—immediately prompted outrage.
One commenter wrote that the tattoo would “look nicer on someone who is Native American, not white,” while another said that it “might be offensive to some that a rich white boy from England is appropriating Native American culture.”
“Getting a tattoo of an entire race that your ancestors almost extinguished,” wrote one Instagram user. “Whites are so dull and boring and English are the worst.”
“Native Americans are not an ‘aesthetic,’” another person complained on Instagram. “They’re real people and you’re using them as a design for your skin because it looks nice. … lmao.”
But others defended Brooklyn Beckham, including several Instagram users who cited their own Native American heritage.
One man from the Mohawk Seneca Nations said he liked the tattoo choice, while another who spoke of Algonquin roots said “this tattoo is an honor to the First Nations people!”
