Khloe Kardashian is coming under fire—and following in the footsteps of sister Kylie Jenner—for “appropriating” a black hairstyle in a viral social media post.
The reality television star, who has been experimenting with her blonde locks for several weeks now on social media, took to Twitter and Instagram this week to compliment her “style muse” Bella Hadid, and reveal a new hairstyle: a set of “bantu knots” created by celebrity stylist Justine Marjan.
She captioned the photo “Bantu babe,” but was forced to remove it after commentators began pointing out that Khloe appropriated the traditionally African hairstyle.
Let's not delete the photo + caption and re-upload BabyGirl. We got time today! @khloekardashian pic.twitter.com/amxVr8tVtf
— Wanna •• (@wordsbywanna) August 9, 2016
Khloe said she just “liked” the second one “better,” but the two photos appear to be identical—save for the caption. And social media caught on, and took the reality star to task for stealing from black culture without “standing up” for African-Americans in public.
@khloekardashian ok but give credit where it's due :///
— Dior | Nicki Minaj (@princedior) August 9, 2016
@khloekardashian it would be nice if you paid homage to the black woman culture when you do our hairstyles ???? but Carry on ☕️????????
— Babe Got Melanin✨ (@HerPistolsGold) August 10, 2016
Although Khloe Kardashians Bantu knots are on point,her constant cultural appropriation isn't. There I said it.
— Tiana Marie (@ThePoisonedVine) August 9, 2016
Kardashian didn’t respond to critics and didn’t uncurl her hair; she was sporting the hairdo while out in LA Tuesday night (along with a bizarrely over-sized camouflage jacket that made her look like she’d just raided a vintage Army parachute cache). And she does have some defenders. Some social media users quickly pointed out that food, fashion, and, yes, even hairstyles that have entered the cultural zeitgeist are fair game, even if they have very specific origins.
https://twitter.com/afldn/status/763330836305412096
She was likely undaunted because this is just the latest in a string of accusations of cultural appropriation, leveled at members of the Kardashian family. Khloe’s sisters Kim Kardashian West and Kylie Jenner have come under fire for their “boxer braids,” which are basically just very thick cornrows.
And the two were accused of appropriating Native American culture last summer when Khloe showed up to her first Coachella sporting a giant Native American headdress.
A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Jun 21, 2014 at 1:30pm PDT
And then there was the time Khloe applauded her sister Kourtney’s boyfriend Scott Disick for his creative Halloween costume—traditional Arab dress.
Even newly minted Kardashian in-law Blac Chyna has regularly accused the Kardashians of stealing elements of their style from black culture.
Clearly cultural-based controversy is just a Kardashian/Jenner family affair. But given the family’s penchant for stirring controversy—even when it results in bad press—it’s likely that they consider the cultural commentary, and the thousands of clicks that accompany it, a public relations win. After all, if you’re talking about the Kardashian/Jenner family, you’re helping them reach their audience of millions, which ultimately helps them stay relevant (and profitable).
The only way Khloe Kardashian is losing any sleep is from the difficulty inherent in laying comfortably on a pillow with a head full of those tiny, twisted buns.
