Kendall Jenner Accused of Cultural Appropriation Over Tequila Ads
Celebrity

Kendall Jenner Accused of Cultural Appropriation Over Tequila Ads

Kendall Jenner is coming under fire thanks to a new campaign for her tequila.

In celebration of the California launch of her controversial 818 Tequila brand, the model recently posted ads, in which she can be seen posing on an agave farm in Jalisco, Mexico. And while the campaign also contained photos of the jimadores who harvest the plant, the internet ended up having a bigger problem with Jenner's outfit, which consisted of a cowboy hate, earrings and loose cotton shirt.

As many argued, her wardrobe choices appeared to be an attempt at a "chic migrant worker look," which critics pointed out was a way of profiting off the stereotypes associated with Mexican farmers and indigenous women.

"Leave it to Kendall to be as tone deaf as possible, this is so offensive. Modeling that chic migrant worker look for her tequila brand," as one person wrote before referencing Jenner's response to that Pepsi ad. "Watch her cry and say she didn't know later on for the 100th time."

At the same time, others took aim at the Kardashian-Jenner's long history of profiting from cultural appropriation, with another commenter adding, "Kendall Jenner DRESSED UP to promote her tequila brand."

"She literally is playing into the Mexican stereotype," they added. "The braids, the hat, the earrings, the filter to make her look tanner...."

Not only that, but even more Twitter users revived a previous conversation asserting that Jenner was trying to "colonize" and "gentrify" tequila by starting the brand with "zero knowledge on Mexican culture and calling it '818 tequila'" in reference to the Calabasas, California area code.

Meanwhile, a few people dove into the deeper implications of Jenner's new endeavor, which @talkfastloueh outlined in a Twitter thread discussing the branding's lack of respect for the spirit's history and cultural importance, how the company would be taking away opportunities from existing, Mexican-owned tequila businesses and the potential worker wage exploitation that could occur.

Granted, some defenders also argued that she was just the latest celebrity to join the tequila game, while others alluded to sexism coloring public opinion by comparing her backlash to the lack of criticism faced by George Clooney and The Rock. However, as TikToker @esposatoxica explained, the current critique of Jenner stems more from the "lack of credit to the actual people slaving away for your tequila in another country," before juxtaposing it with The Rock's "respect for Mexico" in his posts.

That said, the model has notably disabled comments on the post, but has yet to make a public statement about the backlash. In the meantime though, you see Twitter users' suggestions about what other female-led, Mexican-owned tequila brands to actually support, below.

Photo via Getty / Gareth Cattermole

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