Kim Kardashian Is Being Accused Of Cultural Appropriation For Wearing Beaded Braids

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to cultural appropriation, so it should come as no surprise that she’s under fire again—this time for wearing beaded braids on her Instagram and Snapchat.

On Sunday, the 37-year-old reality star posted a video of her flaunting thin, bleached-blonde braids with white beads at the end. In the video, Kim called them “Bo Derek” braids. Bo Derek is an actress who is known for being one of the first white people to culturally appropriate braids in popular media when she wore them in the 1979 film “10,” leading many white women to wear the hairstyle, too.

“So, guys, I did Bo Derek braids, and I’m really into it,” Kim said in the video.

Immediately, the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star was slammed and accused of cultural appropriation for wearing beaded braids, which she also wore on the set of a photo shoot. Many lashed out at Kim for mislabeling the braids, which are actually Fulani braids, a protective hairstyle created by the Fulani people, an ethnic group concentrated in West Africa and parts of East Africa.

Critics were quick to call out Kim for her cultural ignorance. Many lambasted her for crediting the hairstyle to a white actress, while others scolded her for her racial insensitivity given that her husband, Kanye West, and her three children, North, Saint, and Chicago, are black.

It’s past time to stop giving the Kardashian-Jenners a pass for cultural appropriation. There is no excuse, and we hope that Kim not only issues an apology but also stops cultural appropriating and tells her sisters to cut that shit out, too.

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