Kendall Jenner has once again found herself caught up in controversy, this time for a photoshoot she participated in for Vogue that saw her sporting a hairstyle many viewed as an Afro.
The shoot was a celebration of the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund, with multiple shots finding Jenner posing with hair styled into a mass of curls on the top of her head.
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One photo saw Jenner pose alongside model Imaan Hammam, whose hair was straight in the shot, both women wearing dark eye makeup and ’80s-inspired looks.
A second shot found Jenner wearing a floral printed dress with the hairstyle and posing alone.
Almost immediately, the 22-year-old and the magazine were accused of cultural appropriation.
“Black women are shames for their natural hair,” one person wrote. “She copies and is praised.”
“Our #afros are cool just not on us!” a second noted.
“I like Kendall but why didn’t they use an ethnic model who has hair like that,” another comment read.
Some people voiced the opinion that Jenner’s hair was not styled in an Afro and therefore shouldn’t be causing backlash.
“First of all it’s not a fro,” one person wrote. “She has no nappy curls in it. I wish everyone would leave her alone. I’m so over people judging everything these people do. It’s really not that serious.”
“Gimme a break. That’s no afro. PLEASE!” another commented.
“People seriously calling this look an afro is embarrassing and show their own lack of cultural knowledge,” wrote a third. “This looks more like a Victorian/Edwardian era aesthetic than an type 4 hair afro. It’s white European culture for a white magazine with a white model.”
Vogue has since responded to the controversy, explaining that the initial inspiration behind the styling and apologizing for any offense.
“The image is meant to be an update of the romantic Edwardian/Gibson Girl hair which suits the period feel of the Brock Collection, and also the big hair of the ’60s and the early ’70s, that puffed-out, teased-out look of those eras,” the publication a statement to E! News on Tuesday. “We apologize if it came across differently than intended, and we certainly did not mean to offend anyone by it.”
This isn’t the first time a publication of Vogue has faced backlash for perceived cultural appropriation — earlier this year, Vogue Italia drew criticism after styling Gigi Hadid in “blackface” for a shoot, among other moments.
Photo Credit: Getty / Estrop
