Kendall Jenner is in trouble again, once again accused of “cultural appropriation” over an advertising campaign for her new tequila brand.
The 25-year-old has been teasing her product for weeks, and officially launched her label, named 818, today.
Posting a series of atmospheric images on her Instagram feed, Kendall can be seen either drinking the spirit or leading a horse in an agave field. Kendall is dressed in jeans, with her hair in plaits and a cowboy hat around her neck. In other pictures, she watches as a farmer sips tequila or works on the land.
In the post, shared to her 161 million followers, she wrote: “What an incredible experience I have had thus far, learning about this beautiful place, its beautiful culture, and the beautiful people! @drink818 has launched in California... we will be rolling out to the rest of the US all summer long, keep a look out!!!"
The ‘818’ supposedly refers to part of the area code for Calabasas, the city in California where Kendall grew up. However, tequila is recognised as a ‘Mexican designation of origin’ product.
That means, to be classified as true tequila, the drink must only have been produced in certain places in the country, and not in the USA.
Critics have been commenting negatively ever since Kendall announced that she had her own tequila brand, accusing her of “colonising” as she is not Mexican.
However, plenty of other Hollywood celebrities, like George Clooney, Nick Jonas, Justin Timberlake and The Rock either own or have advertised their own tequila labels and don't attract as much disapproval.
One detractor commented: “Is Kendall Jenner really wearing braids and pretending to be a farm worker while colonising tequila? It's a no for me".
Others also thought that she had misjudged her look, saying: "No Miss Kendall, we do not ride in horses all the time, no we do not wear our hair in braids all the time, no workers do not get to drink the tequila (also that's not the way you drink it”.
And also: “Kendal "appropriates Mexican culture for profit", adding she is trying to "look Mexican in her ads".
Kendall doesn’t have much luck with advertising drinks. In 2017, Kendall starred in a Pepsi commercial which appeared to suggest that drinking cola would stop racial conflict, undermining the Black Lives Matter movement.
