Kardashians accused of cultural appropriation after kids perform Māori haka
14 December 2020, 09:52
Social media users called the video featuring Kim and Kourtney's children "disrespectful".
The Kardashians have come under fire once again after Kim and Kourtney's children performed a traditional Māori haka on TikTok over the weekend.
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Kourtney Kardashian's ex-boyfriend Scott Disick shared the video of his daughter Penelope performing the ceremonial New Zealand dance alongside Kim Kardashian's children Saint and North, and two other children.
"TikTok ya don't stop. Ain't got nothing on us," Scott captioned the video, which sees the children perform a rendition of Ka Mate, a war dance the All Blacks perform before their games, before attempting a war cry.
The video didn't go down well on social media, however, as many people accused the family of appropriating culture and disrespecting the scared tradition.
"Look I know those Kardashian kids are KIDS, but why is a sacred tradition and ‘dance’ of my Māori culture being put on tik tok like its a trend? That doesn’t sit right with me," wrote one.
"This is so f**king disgusting. My culture is not your f**king trend. I've officially lost all respect for America. STOP BEING DISRESPECTFUL YOU UNCULTURED IDIOTS," said another.
Māori don’t need to appreciate or be happy with the Kardashian kids doing the haka. White people need to stop telling Māori to “just be happy people are taking your culture in.” Gurl shut up, it’s appropriating culture and the Kardashians are infamous for it.
— Shaneel Lal (@shaneellall) December 13, 2020
y’all see the kardashian kids doing the māori haka as if it’s some tiktok dance 🥴 yikes
— alex ᎡᎵᎩ (@n8valex) December 14, 2020
Look I know those Kardashian kids are KIDS, but why is a sacred tradition and ‘dance’ of my Māori culture being put on tik tok like its a trend? That doesn’t sit right with me.
— f. (@wateryonce) December 14, 2020
This is so fucking disgusting. My culture is not your fucking trend. I've officially lost all respect for America. STOP BEING DISRESPECTFUL YOU UNCULTURED IDIOTS.#TikTok https://t.co/qyvXuE0Q5v
— Jaylyn Jean (@JaylynJean) December 14, 2020
i hope to fucking god kim kardashian doesn't use Māori culture for her next brand
— 🦔 | mando spoilers (@amiocelestials) December 14, 2020
Speaking to Star News, Māori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki said the video could provide good exposure for Māori culture.
"On the one hand, it's a great thing. On the other hand, I would love to have a conversation with them about what the haka means and what motivated them to do it."
He added, "It has to be done with true intent. It's not just something that's good for Instagram or social media."
At the time of writing, the Kardashian's are yet to respond to the backlash.
