Black Twitter drags Justin Bieber over loc hairstyle
The pop star experienced a similar backlash when wearing locs in 2016
Almost five years to the date since it happened the first time, Black Twitter is dragging Justin Bieber over his new loc hairstyle.
The “Peaches” singer recently debuted his new look on social media, posting a picture of him sporting short locs to his official Instagram page. Immediately, the post was met with a severe reaction on social media, with many calling out the singer for cultural appropriation.
It’s now been well over a week, and while the pop star continues to post pictures of this chosen hairstyle all over his Instagram, the conversation online certainly hasn’t stopped, especially on Twitter.
Read More: Justin Bieber faces backlash for MLK clips on new album
One person called out the apparent double standard on the app, writing that if he had been a white woman there may be more outrage. They wrote in a tweet, “Am I crazy or have y’all be extremely quiet about Justin Bieber having dreads. Let it had been a white woman, we wouldn’t hear the end of it (& rightfully so). Keep that same energy for these white men out here that y’all find attractive.”
Other users have been calling out what they interpret as a pattern of behavior for the pop star.
On his latest album, Justice, the singer used a Martin Luther King Jr. speech in an interlude, which also caused quite the controversy.
A user wrote in a tweet, “Y’all let Justin Bieber get away with using an MLK quote for no reason on his album, and now he’s comfortable enough to wear dreads. See what happens when you leave the damn gate open.”
TheGrio previously reported on the MLK audio used on his latest release.
As theGrio‘s Keydra Manns wrote, “Despite King’s voice being featured on the album, none of the 15 R&B/pop tracks listed express any issues regarding civil rights or racial inequality.”
Read More: Justin Bieber and Quavo inspire fans to donate to L.A women’s shelter with music video ‘Intentions’
As far as the locs, this is not the first time Bieber has faced backlash for the exact same hair choice.
In April 2016, the pop star posted a picture to his Instagram wearing locs. The post stirred up a similar amount of controversy at the time, to the point that Bieber eventually made a public comment on the backlash he received.
Speaking to rapper Big Sean at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, he said at the time, “[People say] you wanna be Black and all that stuff, I’m like ‘It’s just my hair.'”
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