Adele addresses viral Bantu knots Jamaican picture after being accused of cultural appropriation 

Adele (Image via Will Heath/NBC/NBCU, Photo Bank/Getty Images, and Alasdair Mclellan/Vogue)
Adele (Image via Will Heath/NBC/NBCU, Photo Bank/Getty Images, and Alasdair Mclellan/Vogue)

In August last year, famed British singer Adele uploaded a snap of herself at the Notting Hill Carnival in London. However, several followers quickly retaliated, accusing the Oscar-winner of cultural appropriation for styling her hair in Bantu knots.

As the carnival celebrated the British West Indian community, Adele was seen wearing a bikini top with a Jamaican flag. The singer also sported yellow feathered headgear. Her look garnered criticism from fans, including journalist Ernest Owens. He tweeted,

"If 2020 couldn't get anymore bizarre, Adele is giving us Bantu knots and cultural appropriation that nobody asked for."

Here's what some followers defending Adele's look argued

Several followers came to her rescue by claiming that it was not cultural appropriation.


What did Adele clarify about her Bantu Knots look from 2020?

Adele will be on the cover of Vogue Magazine's November 2021 issue and had a recent interview with the magazine ahead of the launch of her fourth album 30, which is due next month. While being photographed by and speaking to Steven Meisel of Vogue, she talked about the inspiration behind 30 and recalled the Notting Hill Carnival incident.

The 15-time Grammy-winner revealed that she does not always get things right. She said,

"I could see comments being like, 'the nerve to not take it down,' which I totally get. But if I take it down, it's me acting like it never happened."

Adele further addressed the allegations against cultural appropriation by saying,

"I totally get why people felt like it was appropriating...If you don't go dressed to celebrate the Jamaican culture – and in so many ways we're so entwined in that part of London – then it's a little bit like, 'What you coming for, then?' I didn't read the f**king room."
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Furthermore, the singer also revealed that she sported the Bantu knots to protect her afro hair, but apparently, it ruined her hair.

The Bantu knots originated from the Zulu people of southern Africa, according to beauty website Byrdie. The hairstyle is supposedly protective but can be harmful to hair if the rolls are twisted too tightly. This is likely to have happened to Adele, who said:

"I was wearing a hairstyle that is actually to protect Afro hair. Ruined mine, obviously."

Although several people slammed those who criticized Adele's choice of Bantu knots, the timing of the incident did not help Adele's cause. During that time, "Black Lives Matter" protests had a lot of traction after George Floyd's death in May 2020.