Amid Virginia race row, Katy Perry pulls ‘blackface’ shoe designs; pop star’s been called out before for cultural appropriation
- Before the furore caused by two shoe styles from Perry’s footwear brand, the singer was criticised for dressing as a geisha at an awards ceremony
- On one tour, her backup dancers were dressed as mummies with large behinds, prompting accusations of stereotyping black women
Katy Perry says her footwear brand will remove two styles of shoes from stores following criticism that the design – which set a pair of exaggerated red lips, a triangle nose and large blue eyes atop black Nappa leather – evokes blackface imagery.
The Perry backlash follows controversy surrounding Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and the state’s attorney general, Mark Herring, who admitted to wearing blackface in the past.
From Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana: is fashion industry cutting edge or just racist?
The racist imagery, which emerged from 19th-century minstrel shows that mocked African-Americans, has been an issue in fashion before.
Recently, Gucci pulled a US$890 jumper amid outcry over the wool balaclava design, which placed what resembled bright red lips over a cut-out black polo neck.
Prada faced a similar backlash in December for a store display that recalled blackface figurines.
While some have defended Perry’s US$129 shoes, the pop star’s career, which took off in 2008 with the hit I Kissed A Girl, has been punctuated with accusations of cultural appropriation – even as Perry has sought to align herself with the Black Lives Matter movement and issues involving black women.