Adele accused of cultural appropriation for her Bantu knots hairstyle & Jamaican flag bikini

British musician Adele has stirred controversy on social media after she posted a picture of herself wearing a Jamaican flag bikini top and her hair styled in Bantu knots.

The picture was taken to celebrate what would have been the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday. The annual event celebrates black British culture and this year it was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adele received support from some celebrities like supermodel Naomi Campbell who commented on the post with heart emojis and the Jamaican flag. Some fans also commended her for acknowledging black culture.

However, the post did not sit well with critics who accused her of appropriating black culture.

Among her critics were US journalist Ernest Owens and authors Jemele Hill and Frederick Joseph.

Owens wrote Adele is “giving us Bantu knots and cultural appropriation nobody asked for”.

Adele is seemingly unfazed by the backlash as the picture, which has garnered well over 4m likes, and more than 100,000 comments has not been removed from her account.

These are some of the responses from Twitter: