Hundreds of black users on Twitter were in an uproar Wednesday after a tweet was published from Marie Claire’s account that included a photo of Kendall Jenner and high praise for her “new epic” hairstyle.
The photo of Jenner showed a close-up of the teen celebrity with a portion of her hair styled in neat cornrows while the caption described the hair-do as “bold,” “new” and “epic.”
Kendall Jenner takes bold braids to a new epic level: http://t.co/IMPn41xorh pic.twitter.com/Cgp7X8CfNg
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) April 2, 2014
The tweet quickly ignited a firestorm as Twitter users, primarily African-American men women, lashed out at the lifestyle magazine.
They argued that there is nothing “new” about the teen’s braids and noted that African-Americans have rocked this hairstyle for decades.
https://twitter.com/ShonDPhoto/status/451418205668786177
https://twitter.com/ohitsbarbara/status/451417164797341696
@ReaganGomez Where is the "epic new level?" Yeah just stop….
— MrsRLane (@MrsRLane) April 2, 2014
The backlash even birthed it’s own hashtag #EpicBraidLevels – which continued the debate and included some annoyed yet amusing tweets.
Marie Claire later admitted to their fumble and tweeted an apology, writing: “We didn’t mean to offend or imply that cornrows were new. Our tweet was poorly worded.”
Tell us your thoughts: Do you agree that Marie Claire was in the wrong?
Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works