Another day, another conversation about dreads. The latest controversy revolves around Demi Lovato sporting dreads in her new music video for "No Promises," and Twitter is not having it.
The video has a post-apocalyptic vibe with a lot of dusty desert scenes and smoky, abandoned rooms — think Mad Max, but Demi-style. It's a typical music video concept, but once a close-up of Lovato came on screen — with her mesh shirt, hardware dog collar, and yes, dreads — the public reacted.
Cultural appropriation is a constant topic in the fashion and beauty world — from asking festival goers not to wear cultures as costumes to calling out designers for taking elements from a culture without honoring its origins — some people feel that we should be past this topic of conversation. Many Twitter users have pointed out that knowingly using pieces of a different culture just to be edgy is no longer an accident — at this point, most are aware of the fact that borrowing style and beauty trends from other cultures is a decision that will almost always come under scrutiny.
Some were uneasy with the decision:
While others pointed out that this wasn't the first time she tried the style:
Others just weren't impressed with the insensitive move:
While many called her out for cultural appropriation, others countered with the idea that they weren't dreads to begin with, but rather twists. In order to illustrate their point, they also showed side-by-side comparisons of the two different styles.
Meanwhile, some took to their phones to point out other celebs used the twist hairstyle in the past, like Xtina in her "Dirty" video.
This is one hair decision that has Twitter divided. Check out the video below and see where you stand.
