Pop singer Dua Lipa has been making waves with her new album Future Nostalgia, which album won her the 2021 Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. It is filled with chart-topping songs, including "Don't Start Now," "Break My Heart" and "Levitating."
Dua Lipa's new music video for yet another track on the album, "Love Again," was released on June 4th, but this one has Twitter in an uproar.
The music video features Dua Lipa in many Western-inspired outfits, including a zebra-print bikini top paired with a cowboy hat and a bolo tie. In the video, she is seen riding a mechanical bull and doing several choreographed numbers.
Twitter users were not impressed, though. Many claimed that Dua Lipa copied Halsey, who also sported sultry cowgirl looks in her video for "You Should Be Sad."
Some defended Dua Lipa, stating that Halsey was also not the first to break grounds with the memorable look.
Other users called out Dua Lipa for cultural appropriation, which is adoption of certain parts of a culture without respect to its original meaning. Cowboys first appeared in Spain and Mexico, and were vital in the expansion of the western United States. Many consider the western USA and its culture to be a great representation of America.
The cowboy, in particular, represents a spirit of independence, hard work and self-reliance, but it has been uncomfortably whitewashed in the time since its origin. Some fans saw Lipa's video as appropriative for using the aesthetic of the culture without referencing any other parts of it.
Dua Lipa certainly isn't the first artist to be called out for cultural appropriation in recent days. When Lil Nas X released his music video for the popular song, "Old Town Road," he was slammed for not embracing the "true spirit" of cowboys. In fact, when clothing brand Wrangler supported Lil Nas X, many threatened to boycott the company.
Recently, Justin Bieber was also criticized for having his hair in dreads, which lead him to eventually removing them. Kendall Jenner was also called out for cultural appropriation last month, when she starred in a tequila commercial dressed as a field worker.
At the time of this writing, one day after its release, the music video for "Love Again" has just over 6.5 million views on YouTube. It is widely expected to be the next summer hit.
Dua Lipa also recently told ABC News Radio that she's working on new releases for fans: "I’ll be working on new music, I think, especially while I’m waiting to start touring. I’ve got a couple of other things up my sleeve which I’m excited about that I’ll be putting a lot of focus into it this year."
