Kourtney Kardashian slammed for 'cultural appropriation' for calling herself Polynesian Disney character Moana
Television reality star Kourtney Kardashian received criticism on Wednesday, October 28, after she branded herself as the Disney princess "Moana" in pictures from her sister Kim Kardashian's controversial island getaway. The 41-year-old reality star shared a montage of thong-bikini clad photos from Marlon Brando's resort in Tahiti, captioning it: "I am Moana of Motunui." Shortly after the post, several of her fans accused her of cultural appropriation.
The eldest Kardashian triggered the wrath of her Instagram followers as some accused her of "appropriating indigenous island culture." The Kardashians, who are of Armenian heritage, are known to be proud of their lineage which flows down the line of their late father Robert, their mother, Kris Jenner, however, is of Dutch, English, German and Scottish descent.
One of Kourtney's fans wrote in the comments of her Instagram post: "nah pls stop appropriating indigenous island culture/ community do better." While a second wrote: "Moana was a poc [person of color] though." A third wrote: "No you are not, you are white!" and another user reminded the celebrity where she was from: "No, you are Kourtney from Beverley Hills."
Another implored the celebrity to first think about where she was writing from before making the comparison: "This would make sense if you were posting from Polynesia. Please, people mesh our cultures with other stuff all the time. It doesn't help."
However, some of her fans defended the 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' star and pointed out her Armenian heritage. One wrote: "1. it's just a caption she's not being serious...OBVIOUSLY and 2. she is a poc she's Armenian." Another wrote: "Kourtney is too. Common misconception is that the Kardashians are white. They're Armenian. They may be Americanized but their roots are Armenian." A third wrote: "You would make an amazing Moana!"
The controversy comes days after Kourtney's sister, Kim Kardashian, attempted to gain public favor by encouraging her followers to vote. The reality star was slammed after she had shared pictures of her multi-million dollar holiday during her 40th birthday trip. The criticism came as her followers shared their disgust over the trip which came amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The reality star was denounced for flying out 30 of her family members and closes friends to celebrate her birthday with a sense of "normality" on a private island.
She also tweeted about the trip, writing: "After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time." She added: "We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is. #thisis40."
We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is. #thisis40 pic.twitter.com/UYOcVBpytW
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 27, 2020
Kim, after the backlash, recently posted glamorous images of herself with mother Kris Jenner as she encouraged her followers to go and voter in the 2020 presidential elections. She, however, did not endorse President Donald Trump or his political rival Joe Biden. "Now that I have your attention...this a reminder to VOTE. 6 days," she wrote.