Justin Bieber | Image: Instagram/justinbieber
Justin Bieber has been accused of cultural appropriation after he shared pictures of himself sporting dreadlocks.
The Canadian pop star on Sunday premiered the controversial hairdo on Sunday on his Instagram page with a poolside snap with his wife Hailey.
The next day, Justin shared another photo of himself in a checkered shirt and a pink pearl necklace.
Justin Bieber | Image: Instagram/justinbieber
Bieber’s new hairdo did not go well with many social media users who wasted no time in criticising the singer.
I still cringe at my pre-sobriety choices. Especially having locks in my hair as it’s cultural appropriation & offensive. I was 20 when I cut them off forever (2014). I don’t understand how Bieber had them once (2016), got called out & now has them again…we are the same age🤦🏻♂️
— Ryan Cassata (@ROCassataMusic) April 25, 2021
Justin Bieber put a Martin Luther King interlude on his album and now he’s acting different. pic.twitter.com/Y2AGV3oSiZ
— Dedee 🥀 (@thoughtfulbae) April 26, 2021
Bieber had previously been under fire for sporting dreadlocks at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2016. Shortly after, he shaved his hair down to remove the dreads, but not without issuing a statement.
Many black people consider it a form of cultural appropriation when white people wear dreadlocks, although it has been worn for various reasons among diverse cultures.
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures.
Earlier this year, Rihanna was accused of cultural appropriation after she posted a topless image of herself wearing a pendant depicting the Hindu god Ganesha.
But Rihanna is no stranger to such accusations as she also came under fire from the Muslim community who have accused her of disrespecting the values of Islam during her Savage X Fenty fashion show in October 2020. During the show which premiered on Amazon Prime Video, “Doom” a song that reportedly samples vocals of a Hadith being read in Arabic was played as models dressed in lingerie strutted around.