Like everything in the Year of Our Lord 2020, London’s Notting Hill Carnival was canceled this past weekend. And to commemorate the otherwise annual West Indian celebration, Adele decided to dress up with Bantu knots, feathers, and a Jamaican flag print bikini top.
Personally would have skipped this look, TBH!
Though the outfit is intended in celebration, the internet helpfully pointed out that a white woman wearing Bantu knots—a traditional African hairstyle—is cultural appropriation.
Er.
As one commenter on Adele’s above Instagram photo pointed out: “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.” So, yes, note to all fellow white women: honor Carnival respectfully, but leave the cultural appropriation at home, i.e. nowhere.