Rapper Bhad Bhabie, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli, has been accused of blackfishing by people on social media after she posted a video in which her skin appeared to be darker than usual.
Many people began to comment on the 17-year-old rapper’s skin tone after she posted two videos of herself in which she sports a new look.
Some of her followers accused the Gucci Flip Flops rapper of blackfishing, a term used to describe non-Black people adopting Black features through heavy makeup, tans, textured or artificial hair and photo filters.
People took to social media to criticize Bhad Bhabie, who rose to fame after appearing on Dr. Phil.
“I’m usually the wild one but y’all need to chill and focus on what’s important right now.”
This isn’t the first time Bhad Bhabie has addressed cultural appropriation accusations.
In a 2017 interview with The Fader, the Bestie rapper claimed: “You cannot act a colour.”
“I look at that cultural appropriation s–t and I just ignore it because it’s ridiculous, it really is. You cannot act a colour,” she said.
“Do not tell me I’m acting Black because I’m not. I’m acting urban, or whatever you want to call it,” she continued. “I don’t even have a name for it, I call it ‘me.’ How I act is me. I get braids all the time, you can’t tell me I’m acting Black because I braid my hair. That makes no sense whatsoever.”
Bhad Bhabie continued: “One race does something more than another race. Honestly, Asians started tattoos. Every single race has tattoos. How come they don’t tell me I’m culturally appropriating because I have a tattoo?”
She said that “if someone wants to do something they should just do it, as long as they’re happy with it.”
“If you’re not happy with it then don’t do it. Do what you’re happy with and not what you think whoever else is going to tell you about you ‘acting a colour.’ You don’t act at all, you just do what you think is best. There’s no way to act a colour, that s–t’s ridiculous,” she said.
— With a file from Global News’ Laura Hensley