Does anybody know what the definition of a costume is? Apparently you can’t wear anything without offending people … even on Halloween.
On Sunday’s episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA), cast member Kenya Moore wore a feathered Native American Headdress as her Halloween costume. Since she is not part of the Native culture, she, as well as the Bravo channel and its parent companies, faced a slew of backlash for the episode featuring her dressing up as a warrior princess on the show.
The callout was led by the Native American-led nonprofit organization IllumiNative whose primary focus is on raising Native issues and voices.
The organization was “deeply disturbed” by Moore “Playing Indian” as it was “uncomfortable, unnecessary, and offensive” not to mention “mock[ed]” Native peoples traditions and culture.
IllumiNative also called for Bravo, Comcast, and NBC Universal, RHOA producer Andy Cohen, and Moore to "apologize for the harm they have caused Native peoples and commit to ensuring offensive displays like this never happen again. Native people are not a costume.”
Moore also received a reprimand from her costars, according to US Weekly. During the episode, one star, Drew Sidora said, “Kenya’s Native American costume is super problematic but I ain’t trying to ruffle no feathers for this girls’ trip. It feels like I’m always the only one that sees the issues with Kenya Moore’s decisions.” And former RHOA star, Porsha Williams commented, “Kenya is a Native American warrior. I thought we weren’t doing that no more. Like, I knew that this girl was crazy, but add lame to the list, add whack to the list.”
Since the incident, Moore released a dopey apology as a comment on IllumiNative’s Instagram post as well as on her personal Twitter page. But, before doing so and receiving the criticism, Moore tweeted a defense for the costume saying it was “part of my heritage.” The tweet has since been deleted, though, due to what one can assume was fear of the cancel vultures.
Bravo issued a mea culpa for Moore’s inconsiderate wardrobe choice stating that their aimed intention of having the “highest standards of respect and inclusivity” failed given the supposed "gravity of the situation."
It’s only a matter of time to see where Moore and RHOA will end up next. Will SJWs officially execute them or will the apologies be enough? Someone pass the popcorn.
