Nope. Vanessa Hudgens took to Snapchat on Sunday, October 23, to share a series of selfies featuring herself with box braids. Unsurprisingly, the internet was not here for it.
Almost as soon as Hudgens, 27, posted the pics — one of which she captioned, “Yaaas braids” — commenters hit back hard at the Grease: Live actress, calling her out for appropriating a hairstyle commonly worn by African American women. “Why does Vanessa Hudgens always have to push boudaries of cultures to fit her ‘bohemian’ style,” @freelikejace asked, while @tarat234 tweeted, “You were so cute we were all rooting for u why you gotta go and do this.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the High School Musical alum has borrowed from other cultures in the name of style. Hudgens has been snapped wearing both bindis and saris. She was criticized for wearing a dreamcatcher in her hair, a place they are not typically hung, during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April. And this past summer, after Beyoncé‘s Lemonade dropped, she was blasted for trying out the tribal paint the singer wears in her “Sorry” music video.
Still, a few of her fans have come to her defense. “can y’all leave vanessa hudgens alone that girl doesn’t hurt anybody,” @hatecorey tweeted. @Mikaylasgurl added, “Vanessa Hudgens (who is not white) loves and respects the Black culture. She’s smarter than those white girls getting braids to ‘look pretty.'”
While Hudgens herself has yet to comment on the controversy, she has posted a few photos from her night out at Shenae Grimes‘ costume birthday party, for which she seemingly dressed up as a gypsy with a beaded ’20s headpiece and a printed maxi skirt.
