Kendall Jenner accused of cultural appropriation in new 818 tequila ad

Kendall Jenner has come under fire again amid allegations of cultural appropriation over a campaign shot in Mexico for her new tequila brand.

The 25-year-old model officially launched her new spirits company 818 Tequila this week in California after building up momentum for months on social media.

Jenner shared photos from the campaign on Instagram but soon disabled the comments section after things turned sour when she was met with critics accusing her of exploiting Mexican culture.

A post shared by Kendall (@kendalljenner)

The images include her with a horse in an agave field, where she can be seen dressed in jeans, an oversized shirt and her hair in braids with a cowboy hat slung around her neck.

Other photos included in the post show tequila farmers in the field, her sipping a shot of tequila and a video of herself as she watches a farmer distilling tequila from a distance.

In the caption, she wrote: “what an incredible experience i have had thus far, learning about this beautiful place, it’s 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 reality star’s post has been met with criticism online, with many sharing their views on Twitter.

One user, described the advert as a “huge misconception of the Mexican culture”.

“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)”, Twitter user rex is zayn’s bestie ! added.

The same user also encouraged people not to buy Jenner’s drink, saying tequila is an “important part” of Mexico’s economic growth, and her brand means small and big Mexican tequila businesses will be stunted.

Kendall Jenner trying her hardest to pass of as Mexican to sell her gentrified tequila… 😑😑😑 pic.twitter.com/qACcHBSbzu

why is tequila so important in the mexican culture?
it’s important because no other country can produce Tequila; it’s an important beverage that we use when we are happy, sad, celebrating, mourning etc. and it’s important for the country’s economy. pic.twitter.com/Q5XfHfEQUm

Kendall Jenner roamed through fields of agave on horseback to announce the launch of her 818 tequila brand in California with moody visuals shared to Instagram on Monday

despite tequila's deep-rooted Mexican history having no affiliation to the affluent community she grew up pic.twitter.com/s6Yk0ZXe45

Another user, Gorda, said Jenner “appropriates Mexican culture for profit”, adding she is trying to “look Mexican in her ads”.

Referring to the model’s appearance in the campaign, another Twitter user said: “Kendall Jenner trying her hardest to pass of as Mexican to sell her gentrified tequila…”

is kendall jenner really wearing braids and pretending to be a farm worker while colonizing tequila ? it’s a no for me

not Kendall Jenner disabling her comments on the post of her appropriating our culture for her tequila launch

Another added: “is kendall jenner really wearing braids and pretending to be a farm worker while colonizing tequila ? it’s a no for me”.

Jenner, who has modelled for the likes of Calvin Klein, faced accusations of cultural appropriation and gentrification in relation to her tequila brand back in February.

The official page of the drink stated it was “hand-crafted tequila from Jalisco, Mexico”, but it was named after her residential area code in Calabasas, the city in California where she grew up, prompting many people to claim it was an erasure of Mexican culture.

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