« High School Musical » star Zac Efron was accused of cultural appropriation after wearing dreadlocks in a new photo.
July 6 (UPI) — Zac Efron drew criticism Thursday with his choice of hairstyle.
Some accused the 30-year-old actor of cultural appropriation after he shared a photo on Instagram of himself with dreadlocks.
The black and white picture shows Efron wearing dreadlocks and sunglasses on a beach. He said in the caption the post was « just for fun, » causing fans to sound off in the comments.
« This is so racially insensitive, » one person wrote.
« We love you, just please don’t cultural appropriate — cut those off before they cancel you, » another advised.
Others defended Efron and his hairstyle.
« It’s just a hairstyle — get over it and have fun with your life, » one person wrote.
« Dreadlocks have been used by countless ethnic groups in every part of the world for thousands of years — no one group deserves to claim them, » another added.
Singer Justin Bieber and reality stars Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner have faced similar criticism for their choice of hairstyle. Actress Amandla Stenberg called out Jenner in 2015 after the star wore cornrows.
« When u appropriate black features and culture but fail to use ur position of power to help black Americans by directing attention to ur wigs instead of police brutality or racism #whitegirlsdoitbetter, » Stenberg said at the time.
