Rihanna accused of cultural appropriation over photoshoot

Rihanna has been accused of cultural appropriation after appearing in a photoshoot for Harper’s Bazaar China styled in east meets west clothing.
The Diamonds hitmaker appears on the cover of the August 2019 issue, wearing Chinese couture, hair, and make-up in the images, styled by an all Chinese team, including photographer Chen Man, who shot the Fenty creator’s first cover for the magazine back in 2015.
Editors at the magazine also shared the snaps on Instagram, and in the accompanying caption, described the shoot as “(a) Western-style icon meeting (an) Eastern aesthetic”.
However, the publication was slammed on Instagram and Twitter, for inviting a non-Chinese person to wear items from the country’s rich history and culture.
“If you wanted to create an Asian look why didn’t you invite Asian artists?” one user commented on Harper’s Bazaar’s Instagram post, while another fired: “This is a total smack in the face to the Asian culture.”
Another speculated that if it were another famous face styled like this the reaction would be different.
“I don’t have a problem with Rihanna being dressed like this, we can argue this as cultural appreciation rather than appropriation. Annoyed that if this was Katy Perry or Kim K, they’d be mass called out and cancelled,” one social media user shared.
Kim Kardashian was recently forced to change the name of her Kimono shapewear collection, after being criticised for using the name of the Japanese garment for her brand.
However, according to editors at CNN, the majority of comments on the Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo about the Harper’s Bazaar cover were positive.
“No wonder she is the Queen of Shandong (province),” one user wrote, using a nickname Chinese fans have given Rihanna. “She is a foreigner that is most suitable to the Chinese style.”
A rep for Rihanna has yet to comment on the backlash.