Justin Bieber shows off new dreadlocks, gets dragged on Twitter for appropriating black culture

Justin Bieber has stirred some controversy with his latest hairstyle, showing up at the IHeartRadio Awards sporting dreadlocks.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Justin Bieber has stirred some controversy with his latest hairstyle, showing up at the IHeartRadio Awards Sunday sporting dreadlocks.

After Bieber posted the images of his new look online, fans were quick to criticize him for cultural appropriation, with one user writing, “People are annoyed cause when black people wear this style they are stereotyped as druggies and are “unkempt” look at Zendaya for example. She had fake dreads and she was stereotyped, But when people such as JB […] wears them its suddenly ‘the latest trend’.”

Calling Justin Bieber ‘black’ is biggest insult to us all 

Why

A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on

Radio personality Charlamagne Tha God said Bieber just looks “stupid.”

“Justin Bieber didn’t get the memo that white people look stupid with dreadlocks huh?,” he wrote on Twitter.

The move is particularly strange given Bieber’s past involvement in the cultural appropriation debate, stepping in when Kylie Jenner was accused of appropriation for wearing cornrows.

Justin Bieber defends Kylie Jenner

“Guys leave her alone, were all trying to figure it out and she happens to be under a microscope!” he wrote on Instagram at the time. ”I’m the first to know this. But saying she’s being racist because she has her hair in braids is ridiculous.”

The singer also found himself in some trouble when he posted a picture of himself in cornrows, though he assured fans that “these will be off tomorrow.”

Jamaica brings dreadlocks to Miss World pageant

But Bieber seems to have waded directly into the controversy with his new hairstyle, and it remains to be seen how he will react to the controversy he’s stirred.

Bieber defended his right to wear dreadlocks during a brief interview Sunday night backstage at the iHeart Radio Music Awards.

“[People say] you wanna be black and all that stuff, I’m like ‘its just my hair,’” the “Sorry” singer reportedly told rapper Big Sean.

Fans couldn’t Belieb the 22-year-old’s new ‘do, which he also revealed in an Instagram photo last weekend with the caption, “Why?”

Checkout what some other folks on Twitter have to say about the Bieb’s new do.

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE