Entertainment
Love Island star Rebecca Gormley slammed for cultural appropriation after she sports braidsEmily Bashforth
Many have unfollowed the reality star after feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with her hairdo (Picture: Instagram)
Love Island star Rebecca Gormley has been accused of cultural appropriation for sporting a braided hairstyle.
The reality star recently jetted to Dubai to celebrate her 23rd birthday and enjoyed getting ‘glam’ for the occasion.
However, people have called out Rebecca and even unfollowed her online after feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with her hairdo.
Cultural appropriation is the concept adopting the ‘cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way,’ according to Britannica.
The braids Rebecca currently sports face accusations of cultural appropriation since the style is typically worn by and associated with the African American community.
She debuted the look on her Instagram earlier this week, sharing a series of smiley selfies to thank fans for their birthday wishes.
Posing for the camera, she wrote: ‘Birthday glam💋 extremely overwhelmed🥺 everyone’s kind messages really got me in my feels❣️from the bottom of my heart thanks a million to everyone who made my party so special ❤️’
However, her comments section has become flooded with messages of disappointment, with fans urging her to ‘take them out.’
‘Yikes, that hair is not working for you girl 😬 Please stick to your own culture thx,’ wrote one.
Another commented: ‘are we just ignoring the appropriation? i am confused’
‘Wtf? So wrong on many levels. Do you even know the history of cornrows?’ another asked.
Other fans pointed out that Rebecca, from Newcastle, is not mixed race, and encouraged her ‘do your f***ing research’ on how to ‘appreciate Black culture without putting it on and appropriating it.’
The influencer is currently in Dubai celebrating her 23rd birthday (Picture: Instagram)
‘You’re a huge influencer. Do your f***ing research. Putting on a culture as a fashion statement is so f***ing gross and insensitive,’ began one fan, referencing Rebecca’s 344k follower count.
‘If any of y’all wanna hop on Google for 10 seconds, you’ll find out real quick why this s*** isn’t okay. Google “Black cultural appropriation” or “Why shouldn’t people wear cornrows”.’
Rebecca has not addressed the criticism but has continued to post on her Instagram account, including a snap with her birthday cake.
The comments of her second pic were also inundated with allegations of cultural appropriation, urging her to ‘respect’ those who feel offended by her hairstyle.
Fans have called for Rebecca to ‘educate herself’ on cultural appropriation (Picture: Farrell/Backgrid)
Elsewhere, Rebecca split from ex Biggs Chris last year after a year of dating.
The model confirmed the break up after she and Biggs hadn’t appeared on social media together for quite some time.
‘Everyone is asking this question and the reason why I haven’t told you any sooner is that I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing,’ she told fans in a Q&A last summer.
More: Love Island
‘And it is the best thing for us so yeah, we have broke up.’
Following his split from Rebecca, 29-year-old Biggs flew to Ibiza to party.
Rebecca has been contacted for comment.
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