Adele under attack for ‘ cultural appropriation’ over knotted hair

ADELE has been accused of cultural appropriation after sharing an Instagram picture showing her wearing a traditional African hairstyle while marking what would have been the Notting Hill Carnival.

The chart- topping star, inset, showed off her slimmer figure in a Jamaican flag string bikini.

Adele, 32, also wore her hair in Bantu knots – small coiled buns typically associated with people of African descent.

The Tottenham- born singer captioned the post: “Happy what would be Notting Hill Carnival my beloved London.”

However, Adele was quickly accused of cultural appropriation for using the hairstyle.

A Twitter user said: “If 2020 couldn’t get anymore bizarre, Adele is giving us Bantu knots and cultural appropriation that nobody asked for. This officially marks all of the top white women in pop as problematic. Hate to see it.”

Another said: “If you haven’t quite understood cultural appropriation, look at @ Adele’s last Instagram post. She should go to jail no parole for this.” Writing in the comments section of the Instagram post, another user said: “Bantu knots are NOT to be worn by white people in any context, period.” However, many social media users have come to Adele’s defence, arguing she was free to wear her hair however she liked. The singer’s celebrity friends also appeared to approve of the look. Supermodel Naomi Campbell, whose mother was born in Jamaica, commented with two love heart emojis and two pictures of the Jamaican flag.

Jamaican musician Popcaan also appeared to be a fan, sharing a fist emoji and a love heart. Actress Tessa Thompson, who stars in sci- fi TV series Westworld, commented with a flame emoji.

The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event that celebrates black culture, but this year it moved online.

Adele, who has attracted attention for her weight loss, shared on Instagram last month that reading author Glennon Doyle’s third memoir made her feel as if she “flew into her body for the very first time”.

The singer shared a recommendation for Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living with her more than 38 million followers.