Kim Kardashian West has done it again, kids. No stranger to cultural appropriation, the reality TV star posted a photo on Instagram where she donned a jewelled maang tikka, a headdress traditionally worn by South Asian women. She also wore a white off-the-shoulder dress and hanging earrings, and captioned the post "Sunday Service Vibe," but many did not view this attire as pious Sunday-funday wear.
In Indian culture, the maang tikka — which features a delicate adornment that touches the forehead — is traditionally worn by brides.
While the photo garnered more than 2 million likes, a small fraction of her 133 million followers, it also divided fans in the comments, with many accusing the mother of three of disrespecting Indian culture with her attire.
"So no one's gonna call out Kim Kardashian on cultural appropriation for wearing Indian jewellery but when it comes to a non-black person wearing dreadlocks, the Internet goes up in flames," wrote one commenter.
"She's done appropriating black culture, now she's moved onto south Asian [sic]," one comment read.
"For those of you who don't know, the maang tikka is a ceremonial head piece traditionally worn by the bride. Wearing white in India is traditionally reserved for funerals. On top of that she wore this to a Christain service [sic]. If she wore the maang tikka to a traditional Indian event I'd KINDA get it like oh she tried... but idk. She probably thought it was just jewelry, but when that piece has literally been used for centuries wouldn't you kinda think there must be some sort of significant meaning held towards it? Especially in a country known for its culture? Idk. For somebody who has been to India and has posed on India Vogue I kinda thought she assumed this much 👌🏼 I still love her, but her whole outfit is contradictory," wrote another commenter.