Discussions of cultural appropriation and racist costumes come up every year around Halloween, but not usually like this. One singer got into some hot water when she decided to dress up as one of her musical icons, but people rallied to her defense.
Instagram | @normani
Singer Normani Called 'Racist' For Dressing Up As Cher: 'Cher Is White, Respect Her'
Singer Normani, best known for being in the girl group Fifth Harmony, shared her multiple Halloween costumes on Instagram.
First, she recreated a photoshoot done by supermodel Naomi Campbell, and she absolutely killed it, from the outfit to the facial expression to the pose.
She also went out dressed as Selena Quintanilla, Queen of Tejano.
Normani was obviously paying homage to some of her idols, and like many singers, one of those idols is Cher.
Normani shared her Cher costume on Instagram shortly after sharing her Naomi.
She was clearly very detail-oriented in this costume, dressing herself in a sparkly, sequined wig and basically nothing else to recreate the iconic Cher photoshoot.
Her dedication was obvious.
From the background to the exact positioning of the wings, obviously Normani was determined to get it right. She seriously nailed it, and her appreciation of Cher was obvious.
Someone felt Normani should've stuck to dressing up as black celebrities.
Instagram | @normani
One Instagram user commented saying "I don't think this is the right costume for a black girl," noting that Cher is "white and thin." She then suggested that Normani could've dressed as Beyoncé, Rihanna, or Janet Jackson instead.
Hailey Bieber jumped to her defense.
Instagram | @normani
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with Normani dressing up as Cher for Halloween," the model wrote, adding, "Stop being racist and get out of her page if you don't like it."
Preach!
Some fans have even pointed out that Cher isn't fully white.
Twitter | @Aryacolbert
Cher is half-Armenian on her father's side, and her mother Georgia Holt also claims some Cherokee ancestry.
Other people have claimed a double standard.
This Twitter user discussed how if a little girl dressed up as Beyoncé, she would be called racist, but the same people aren't calling Normani racist.
However, some argued that the first example isn't true.
This Twitter user responded saying the only way that would be racist would be if the girl darkened her skin to try to replicate her skin tone. They showed an example of a character on Glee dressed as Beyoncé who wasn't called racist.
Some people think the double standard goes the other way.
As this Twitter user pointed out, if you plan on calling out Normani as racist, you should be prepared to call out people who have actually painted their skin for a costume.
Normani certainly didn't lighten her skin tone in any way for her costume.
What do you think? Do you care if Normani dressed as Cher? Are people seriously overreacting, or is there a double standard?
Filed Under:
Most Popular
