After her previous post bruised the feathers of people who took issue with her inability to understand the difference between a bandana and a du-rag, pop goddess Madonna is the latest celebrity to receive a truly astonishing ratio on Twitter. Madonna captioned a flashback photo of herself wearing dark glasses and a black bandana with the remark “Durag activity….” which… umm… no. No, on so many levels.
Fans were quick to point out Madonna’s misappropriation of the style and its terminology, pointing her that: 1. she is wearing a bandana in the photo, not a du-rag; and 2. “Durag activity” does not mean what she obviously thinks it means. Madge’s gaffe elicited a barrage of responses, ranging from indignation comments to tongue-in-cheek drags, as she was compared to a slew of other pop musicians who had overstepped their cultural boundaries and stepped on an appropriation landmine in the past.
To be honest, I’m of the same thought on this as comedian Sam Jay, who deconstructed her ideology in the first episode of her (very fantastic) new HBO show Pause With Sam Jay: I’m not upset; I just think it’s funny. There are clearly far more pressing issues in the world than a middle-aged mother’s errant attempt to be “cool” — or any pop star’s, for that matter. But if it looks awful, it looks horrible, and you can be roasted just like everyone else – after all, that’s part of the culture.
Check out the responses above and below.
