Rap sensation Cardi B issued an apology for sporting a Goddess Durga "look" on the cover of a footwear magazine, which lead to social media outrage. Certain section of netizens accused Cardi B of "culture appropriation" and of "disrespecting religion." The November cover of Footwear News featured Cardi B posing with 10 hands and carrying a shoe to promote her new Reebok collaboration. "Sorry guys, I didn't mean to offend or disrespect anybody's culture. I can't change the passed but I'll be more cautious for the future," Cardi B wrote in one of her Instagram stories.
Screenshot of Cardi B's Instagram story
The post, which has now been taken down from Instagram, described the concept of Cardi B posing as Goddess Durga as: "...she pays homage to Durga, the Hindu goddess, whose symbols of protection and inner strength resonate as much in modern times as they have through the centuries. Like Durga, Cardi B is a dominant female voice at a critical time."
In the videos Cardi B shared in separate Instagram stories, the singer added: "When I did the shoot, the creator told me you are going to represent strength, femininity, liberation and that's something I love and I'm all about it. And I thought it was dope. If people think I'm offending their culture or their religion, I want to say it was not my intent. I do not like offending anyone's religion. I wouldn't like it if someone did it to my religion."
Cardi B is best known for her popular tracks such as Bartier Cardi, Bronx Season, Get Up 10, I Do, I Like It, among others.
