Rita Ora Is Accused of ‘Blackfishing’—But We’ve Seen This From White Stars Before
Rita Ora found herself at the center of a controversy earlier this week, when a tweet that called out the 29-year-old pop singer, whose parents are Albanian, for appropriating Black aesthetic surfaced. “Finding out Rita Ora isn’t Black at all and both of her parents are white Albanians is so trippy,” the user wrote on August 9. “The girls BEEN Blackfishing.”
The term “Blackfishing” refers to when a person emulates Blackness on social media, but I don't think it applies to her in this particular situation because Ora has never darkened her skin to appear Black, nor has she denied her heritage. However, she has worn Black hairstyles, ranging from box braids to cornrows to Afros, and even acknowledged in the past that others have assumed she is of mixed race. So what the tweet really should be calling out is something Ora and other stars in her position have done for years: using the unique style of Black women to raise their cultural currency.
This is why the Kardashians are routinely criticized yet unshakable in their influence on pop culture. They infamously sport “boxer braids” and crimp Kanekalon ponytails but remain prominent because these looks are considered more societally palatable when they are executed by white women. It's also why artists like Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Miley Cyrus can appropriate the styles of Black women and face little to no consequences.
Iggy Azalea made an entire career out of a poorly performed “blaccent” while also stealing the style of Black women to further her music career. (What was even more disheartening is that T.I.—a Black man—famously cosigned her.) Billie Eilish is known just as much for her take on streetwear as her catalog—think oversized clothing, graphic tees, and Air Force 1 sneakers—but her look wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the Black female singers before her like SWV, Aaliyah, Xscape, TLC, and Rihanna.
It’s clear that copying the styles of Black women will always be good for business for white women. While Ora might be guilty of this, she's only part of the larger problem: Black women are so routinely disrespected about our hair, used for our features, and discarded when they are deemed to be no longer of value that when it happens there is rarely genuine outrage. That viral tweet brought attention to a trend that's actually been occurring for years. My hope is that this will be the beginning of a discourse about how we can do more to uplift and center the Black women who keep pop culture afloat.
Candace McDuffie is Boston-based writer with bylines in Entertainment Weekly, Vice, Forbes, Vibe, and more.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
