Pamela Anderson Responded to the Controversy About Her Halloween Costume
This Halloween, Pamela Anderson thought it was a great idea to wear a Native American headdress, which didn't go unnoticed by Twitter users. Not only did the internet point out that it was a case of cultural appropriation, many added that wearing feathers goes against Anderson's long history of standing up for animal rights. According to JustJared, Anderson defended her decision to wear the headdress, citing an article saying that criticizing what she did was stopping the flow of new ideas and mixing cultures.
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Anderson posted the link as a comment to her original Tweet, which was a pair of black-and-white photos that featured the headdress. In one, she's wearing it and in the other, she's simply holding it in her hand. The article that she links to is titled "The Illogic of Cultural Appropriation" and was written by University of San Diego law professor Mike Rappaport. He argues that calling out cultural appropriation clashes with what makes a free society great. According to Rappaport, appropriation is actually beneficial, because it mixes cultures together to form new ideas.
"The criticisms about cultural appropriation turn out to be inconsistent with essential aspects of the greatness of a free society," he wrote. "These criticisms are an attempt to prevent people from the generally beneficial process of modifying and mixing cultural practices, all in the name of group rights."
He adds that exploring other cultures makes for a richer and improved world for everyone.
"In a free society, people from different cultures bring their practices to the wider society and they are followed by others in that society, making possible a richer and improved culture."
Happy Halloween 👻 pic.twitter.com/K2pvI3FxCe
— Pamela Anderson (@pamfoundation) October 31, 2019
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Anderson's response didn't sit well, as criticism continued to pour in. Twitter users weren't buying Rappaport's argument, pointing out that cultures are not costumes, no matter what the context.
I wasn't aware it was apart of any native american people's culture to wear a headdress stark nude, or for that matter for a female to wear one. Get over yourself
— Matthewfoley (@RealMattFoley84) November 4, 2019
Cultural appropriation is not a good look.
— Mari (@Mari42B) November 1, 2019
And you wore the feathers of how many dead birds, Pam? Cultural appropriation, racism and hypocrisy all in one photoshoot. I’m sure folks at @peta are mighty proud of their association with you.
— Cathy (@DustypupVI) November 2, 2019
