Adele seemed to mock people who accused her of cultural appropriation after posting her photo wearing Bantu knots and a Jamaican flag bikini top. The 32-year-old star left an intriguing comment on Brandy and Monica's Verzuz battle on Instagram, and it created some stir.
Brandy and Monica went head-to-head on Instagram Live, and Adele seemed to be watching. The hitmaker left a comment using a Jamaican language, which appeared to be a dig at her bashers.
"Wah Gwaan! Yow gyal, yuh look good enuh," the Grammy- award winner wrote. According to HollywoodLife, "Wah Gwaan" was a Jamaican slang term usually used for greeting.
In English, it could be translated to "What's up?" or "What's going on?" The rest of the comment simply said the girls looked good.
However, it was unclear if Adele really wrote the comment. There was a possibility that internet users only edited it. The famed singer-songwriter also had yet to address the issues - either her viral comment or post.
Recently, Adele had been the talk of the town after she posted a photo of herself, sporting the traditional African hairstyle, pairing it with a Jamaican flag print bikini top. She was then accused of cultural appropriation, although she seemed to imply it would have been only her costume if the Notting Hill Carnival pushed through in London.
The Jakarta Post noted the Notting Hill Carnival was an annual event, where there would be "parades, music, and food" filled with a "strong Afro-Caribbean presence." However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event would only be held online this year, just like other activities.
Adele's post quickly got the attention of so many, from fans and critics alike. It even resulted in a social media backlash. Black journalist Ernest Owens made a tweet out of it, saying that if 2020 could get any weirder, it was Adele giving everyone Bantuk knots and cultural appropriation that "nobody asked for."
He even added that the mother-of-one's post marked "all of the top white women in pop as problematic." Of course, her fans and pals came to the "Hello" hitmaker's defense, like the iconic English model Naomi Campbell, who backed Adele by commenting heart emojis and Jamaican flags.
Zoe Saldana also supported the singer, saying she looked "right at home." Alternatively, her fans, who identified themselves as Jamaican, also defended her by insisting she was appreciating and not appropriating Jamaican and African culture. They also added it was a common practice to dress in ethnic-inspired attires for the Notting Hill Carnival.
