Justin Bieber has come under fire for the second time in five years for sporting dreadlocks.
The 27-year-old Canadian pop star, who showed off his new look on Instagram, where many of his followers shared their thoughts.
"This is cultural appropriation," read one comment. "I know you can do better." Another opined: "J, please educate yourself on culture appropriation.... You shouldn’t be wearing dreads... With love."
One fan wrote: "It’s really disappointing to see you with dreads, I thought you educated yourself."
Bieber also faced the music on Twitter.
“Justin Bieber has moved into a white people dreadlocks phase,” read one tweet. “I am indefinitely withdrawing my support for the pop singer until this misadventure concludes.”
Another read: “You have to understand that to support black people and the anti racism movement you have to be coherent to what you preach and that means not doing cultural appropriation ever. Dreadlocks do not look good on you.”
Justin needs to look into why dreadlocks are considered to be cultural appropriation. If he educated himself on this topic, he wouldn't be doing it
— འ •*.ღ. ᴊᴜꜱᴛɪᴄᴇ out now (@Groovybiebz) April 26, 2021
now why did justin bieber get dreadlocks and why does he keep getting a pass pic.twitter.com/lTis4w2J7X
— bea TV (@mytearsrichocet) April 25, 2021
In April 2016, Bieber was slammed for showing up with dreadlocks at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Justin Bieber, pictured in 2016. Jason Kempin / Getty Images
The latest complaints come only a month after the release of Justice, which includes soundbites of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
On Clubhouse last month, Bieber said he is willing to take the “ridicule or judgment of people” for putting MLK’s voice on Justice. He said Black history “was just not a part of our education system” in Canada and insisted he is keen to grow and learn about “all social injustices and what it looks like for me to be better, what it looks like for my friends to be better.”
In 2014, Bieber apologized publicly after videos surfaced in which a 15-year-old Bieber repeatedly used a racist slur. In a statement at the time, the singer called the joke a “reckless and immature mistake mistake” and said he didn’t fully understand “the power of certain words and how they can hurt” when he was younger.
When Kylie Jenner was accused of cultural appropriation in 2015 for wearing cornrows, Bieber publicly defended his friend. “Guys leave her alone, we’re all trying to figure it out,” he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “Saying she’s being racist because she has her hair in braids is ridiculous. Lets focus on the bigger picture and instead of fighting over something stupid let’s do something about equality, but it doesn’t start here blasting a 17-year-old kid for wearing braids smh.”
Regarding Bieber with dreadlocks...I don't even like him but calling it racist litterally takes away from real rascim. GERMANIC TRIBES AND VIKINGS had dreadlocks too aswell as Egyptians and Indians. All races have a history of it. People are offended by every thing these days
— Siouxsie Wild (@unicorndazzles) April 27, 2021