UPDATE (March 23 2021 — 3:44pm ET): Bravo and Kenya have both issued apologies for her “Native American” Halloween costume. Kenya took to Twitter on Tuesday and said she was “sincerely” sorry for “inappropriately wearing” her costume on the show. As for the network, Bravo said they “hoped” that Kenya’s costume would “provide a teachable moment”, but they now realize they didn’t “address this properly given the gravity of the situation.” See both of their full statements below.
— KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) March 23, 2021
ORIGINAL STORY: Kenya Moore is being accused of appropriating Native American culture after the Halloween episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta aired on March 21. Falynn Guobadia hosted a Halloween costume party during Sunday night’s episode, and Kenya drew attention from both her co-stars and Bravo viewers for showing up in a feather headdress and brown fringe dress. Kenya labeled the look “Warrior Princess,” but Bravo wrote “Native American” on the TV screen.
However, Drew wasn’t the only one who thought that. “Kenya is a Native American warrior. I thought we weren’t doing that no more. I knew that this girl was crazy, but add lame to the list, add whack to the list,” Porsha Williams added in her own confessional.
The controversial topic carried into a RHOA AFTER SHOW clip, which was uploaded to YouTube on March 22. “Someone was dressed fully in head to toe cultural appropriation,” Porsha said, picking up where she had left off on Sunday night’s episode. LaToya Ali added that she “just couldn’t believe the costume.”
Kandi Burruss, who also joined the post-show discussion, came to Kenya’s defense. The RHOA star said that she “didn’t think anything” of the costume and argued that Kenya wore the costume not “to mock anyone.” Instead, Kandi believed that her co-star thought it “was a beautiful costume” that was “a sign of a leader.”
Kenya also came to her own defense after a majority of Twitter sided with Drew, Porsha and LaToya’s thoughts on the costume. She replied to one of her online critics and tweeted, “Also part of my heritage #RHOA.”
Some fans agreed with Kenya. “Africans, Caribbean’s and different ppl of color wear head pieces. They wanna hate every chance they get!,” one fan tweeted. Meanwhile, another fan shared a link to a feather headdress that Nicki Minaj once wore; the rapper was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and in the Caribbean islands, many people wear feather headdresses for Carnival (which is one example of another culture wearing feather headdresses).
Kenya, I identify as Native American and can tell you that our heritage and culture doesn’t mean we use it as a “costume” for a Halloween party, even if it is apart of your heritage that doesn’t make it right…
— 𝘓𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 💎 (@bravobyleland) March 22, 2021
Regardless, many others still saw Kenya’s costume as problematic. It looked very similar to the types of costumes that many members of the Native American community have long asked people outside of their culture to stop wearing.
“Kenya, I identify as Native American and can tell you that our heritage and culture doesn’t mean we use it as a ‘costume’ for a Halloween party, even if it is apart of your heritage that doesn’t make it right…,” one person tweeted, while another wrote, “#RHOA – Kenya Moore preaching about disrespect while she is wearing an Native American headdress— umm ok…”