Cultural appropriation? Kim Kardashian comes out fighting after being slammed for wearing cornrow braids
Kim Kardashian arrived at MTV awards last month in a chic outfit but it was her hairstyle that caught the attention of many but for all the wrong reasons. Kim wore her hair in cornrow braids and fans were quick to express their outrage over it as they noted it to 'culture appropriation'.
However, the reality star has now defended her decisions saying her braided hairstyles comes from a “real place of love and appreciation.” On Sunday (July 16), Kim appeared as one of the panelists for BeautyCon in LA and the 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' star thought about addressing the growing criticism on her choice of hair. Kim said that her hairstyles are often inspired by the places she visits.
“I’ve definitely had my fair share of backlash when I’ve worn braids. I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel around the world and see so many different cultures that have so many different beauty trends," she said, as reported by People. Kim added that her 4-year-old daughter North West also inspires most of her style. “My daughter actually loves braids, like this last time I wore [them], she helps me pick out a look and will show me pictures. I just think if it comes from a place of love and you’re using it as cultural inspiration, then I think it is okay,” she continued.
“Sometimes I think maybe if you don’t communicate where you got the inspiration from — and I’ve done that in the past — then people might not understand it. But yeah, I think as long as it comes from a place of love and you’re getting inspired, it is okay," she added.
While Kim mostly tends to avoid commenting on such topics, she did admit that there are times when they take a toll on her. “What’s crazy is you can be having the best day, you can be posting the best pictures of yourself or whatever makes you happy, have one million positive comments and you’ll see one negative comment and it’ll ruin your day,” she said. However, as days go by and criticism getting no less, Kim has learned how to deal with them.
“But really honestly it doesn’t really affect me anymore because I try to look at the positive side of things. I might re-evaluate it when the time comes that my kids want phones and want to be on social media, but all in all, I’ve tried to look at the positive of it,” she said. Meanwhile, Kim revealed that as much as she avoids criticisms she loves to receive feedback about her KKW beauty line products.
“That’s the amazing thing about having your own brand. You learn and you can add, change the formulas as you go even if the product is launched and you’re not happy with something, then you can change the colors. You can add to the shade range. You can do anything you want when it’s your brand, and as long as you’re learning and you’re paying attention and you’re taking feedback from your customer, it can only get better,” she said.