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Normal or box braids? Blackpink Jennie's new hairstyle has fans saying 'culture volturi'

Jennie had previously come under fire for wearing cornrows for The Weeknd's HBO show 'The Idol'

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Looks like we are back to the 2018 era when Blackpink was active and being booked for gigs while haters were trying to bring them down. Well, Blackpink is back after a 2-year hiatus with their million-seller album 'Born Pink' but are surrounded by hate and rumors from Jisoo being bashed for her singing to Jennie being dropped for allegedly dating BTS' V. And with Jennie's new braided hairstyle, many have taken to call her out.

While the girls are preparing for their second world tour that boasts a 1.5 million audience, Jennie is also busy with her modeling career on the side. She recently was roped in by Tamburins and the first snippet of her photoshoot created a buzz. With tight close-ups of her face, K-pop Twitter was seen marveling at her beauty. However, the next day, on September 21, Tamburins released a video teaser in which the Blackpink star's hair is in braids. Since the video is dark and does not show a clear picture of her hairstyle, the fandom is divided. However, many fans think that Jennie is wearing box braids and once again doing cultural appropriation.

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Did Jennie wear box braids?

K-pop idols often come under fire for cultural appropriation to the extent that a study was done and a culture professor speculated that it will continue as idols and their labels are not interested in learning about other cultures. In fact, idols end up doing cultural appropriation in a bid to cater to the West. This, more times than not, includes emulating Black fashion and AAVE slang. Just last year, Blackpink's Lisa apologized for wearing box braids after Black fans told her that it was insensitive especially since she was doing it for a 'badass' and 'hip-hop' concept. And now, just weeks after Jennie was slammed for wearing cornrows in the HBO show 'The Idol', fans think she should have been careful.

But Jennie's case is a little more complicated. She just may be arguably one of the most hated K-pop idols. Ever since Blackpink's breakthrough, the internet has been cyberbullying her for the absurdest reasons like dating EXO's Kai or for looking lazy on stage. This is why fans are now wary as they feel some trolls may take this opportunity to send hate to Jennie regardless of the hairstyle since there is no clear video or picture. This argument is further strengthened as on the same day, the 'lazy scandal' has again resurfaced as trolls claimed Jennie was actively avoiding some of the choreography of 'Shut Down' to look cool.

'What's the problem'

One Black fan was confused, "Wait what's the problem , they ain't cornrows or box braids or anything they look like normal braids." Another posted, "You are sick. They are simple braids. When are you going to stop bothering her? What's wrong with you? Does she have to apologize to you for breathing too? A**holes." A Black fan said, "Jennie's NON-BLACK second Fandom in qrt sit down, it's just Normal braids."

Another fan tweeted, "Blinks couldn’t be more transparent when Ls did CA they were so mf loud and noisy rightfully tho but when their meow meow JENNIE being legit culture volturi and using black culture as aesthetic it’s suddenly not box braids and not cornrows." A fan commented, "Soo its okay to hate on lisa for wearing a headpiece saying it was made to copy a durag but not with jennie sporting braids that were made to look like dreadlocks? oh ok." However, one user said, "Is Jennie doing this on purpose now? The braids…y’all can keep going with the debates, all I know is if I were already called out for wearing braids before, I’d steer clear from any other braids that may be in the grey area of CA, just to respect their fans."

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