Ricky Martin accused of cultural appropriation after posting headdress photo

Ricky Martin accused of cultural appropriation after posting headdress photo

Less than a week after comedian Kevin Hart was met with accusations of cultural insensitivity after throwing his son a Cowboys-and-Indians-themed birthday party, singer Ricky Martin is being accused of cultural appropriation for wearing a Native American headdress in an Instagram photo.

The "Livin' La Vida Loca" singer and "Assassination of Gianni Versace" star, who has been at work in the recording studio, struck a pose late Wednesday night while wearing a feathered Lakota headdress and aviator sunglasses. He captioned in the picture, "What happens in Miami...... ends up on IG."

It's not clear if Martin was trying to strike a Village People vibe but the comment section lit up with accusations of cultural appropriation and counter-arguments about "being offended for the sake of being offended."

"As I see it, here are two ways of being, the first one is getting offended over everything even though you don't have a complete context, the second one is enjoying that people is sharing part of another culture," wrote @karylt88. "When foreign people come to Colombia and use our ponchos, ruanas or sombreros vueltiaos, I see them and I think: "Oh, they look so cute!" And it makes me incredibly happy that they are enjoying our ways of dressing and wanting to explore it, it doesn't come from a place of disrespect, but from a place of caring, curiosity and togetherness."

Fellow commenter @Charlenepetra firmly disagreed in the case of the headdress. (The war bonnet, as it is known, is viewed as a symbol of respect and courage among American Plains Indians Nations. Wearing it is a right that must be earned.)

"Even within Native communities from the plains, not everyone is allowed to wear the headdress," she argued. "Not only is it cultural appropriation of a culture that’s been crushed for centuries but also it’s desecrating a spirituality,"

Martin, she wrote, "is not native. He is not enrolled (in a tribe), he never had to face the hardship of being a tribal member in a colonized society. His culture is not being mocked, assimilated and crushed."

The singer, who was raised in Puerto Rico, told Spain's ABC Magazine that his ancestors came from that country's Basque region and the Canary Islands.

In @Charlenepetra's estimation, Martin wearing the headdress "probably doesn’t come from a place of disrespect, but it comes from a place of utter ignorance."

@jordanlewis76 said Martin should "lead by example. This contributed to the continued disrespect of native peoples and allowing people to think it is okay.

@Hiram_hernandez wrote, "People need to stop actively looking for stuff to be offended about and stop playing the hurt victim and see things for what they are. Again, its not personal, but if you scroll down the comments, most people taking offense to this are white people that don't know the first thing about Indian culture!!!" 

In an effort to break the tension, @Buckytomko took a lighter tone: "Hey, Ricky. Dude, you're beautiful, but wearing a native headdress is super uncool. Please don't. Let's face it, you're better not wearing much of anything."

A representative for Martin did not immediately return USA TODAY's request for comment.