Justin Bieber showed off his latest dreadlocks hairstyle with some Instagram posts beginning in late April.
Never one to rest on his laurels when it comes to personal style, the pop superstar added another touch of flare on Friday when he styled his dreads into space buns.
The Yummy singer’s new hairstyle has elicited both backlash for cultural appropriation, as well as praise, amongst some of his fans, followers and peers.
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New style: Justin Bieber, 27, decided to put his new dreadlocks hairstyle into space buns and share a photo on Instagram on Friday, May 14
In the most recent Instagram photo, Bieber appears to be sitting in the passenger’s seat of a vehicle as he flashed a serious grin into the camera.
He has the various rope-like strands of hair pulled into two buns on both sides of the top of his head.
By having his tresses pushed back over his ears, the Love Yourself singer’s left earring is visible.
Bieber looked to be donning a casual ensemble in the afternoon, which included a blue and white windbreaker-type jacket.
New ‘do’: Bieber has been showing off his dreads in a series of images on social media
Backlash: The pop superstar faced immediate criticism from some fans and followers when he debuted his dreadlocks on April 25, with a photo of himself and wife Haley Bieber
The pop superstar first sported the new hairstyle in an Instagram post on April 25.
He has since shared an array of images of himself with the new ‘do’ on his social media platforms.
While plenty of his 175 million Instagram fans and followers gave their approval of the hairstyle as a fashion statement, many social media users criticized the White singer-songwriter for cultural appropriation.
‘Oh no’ and ‘please stop this’, are among the popular comments from naysayers.
Criticism: The Sorry singer was accused of cultural appropriation for his version of dreadlocks
Naysayers: ‘I pray you have learned from 2016 and don’t have dreads,’ one person wrote, in a reference to Bieber sporting the hairstyle, which has traditionally been worn by people of color, a second time; the singer is seen with DJ Khaled earlier this month
‘I pray you have learned from 2016 and don’t have dreads……like go google why white shouldn’t have dreads i beg!!!’ another user, who was wasn’t sure he was donning dreads in a photo with his wife Haley Bieber, wrote after the initial post.
That person was referring to when Bieber sported dreadlocks in 2016, and subsequently faced backlash as a result.
At the time, Bieber responded to the criticism, in part, by playing the role of a surfer dude in a short video for Instagram.
‘”Dude, are you gonna do anything with your hair or are you just gonna leave it like that, dude?” Yeah, some girl came up to me, like, “I love you Justin, but like, that’s like my least favorite of yours,”‘ the singer said in a Jeff Spicoli-like surfer accent.
‘Being weird is fun’ if u r not weird I don’t like you,’ he wrote in the caption.
Backlash in 2016: Bieber was also accused of cultural appropriation when he sported deadlocks in 2016; following the criticism, he shared a video where he played the role of a surfer dude: ‘”Dude, are you gonna do anything with your hair or are you just gonna leave it like that, dude?” Yeah, some girl came up to me, like, “I love you Justin, but like, that’s like my least favorite of yours”‘
Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, which is one of Europe’s earliest civilizations, centered in Crete (now a part of Greece).
The hairstyle has traditionally been worn by people of color throughout history, which includes the Rastafari movement where dreadlocks are symbolic of the Lion of Judah, which is sometimes centered on the Ethiopian flag.
When reggae music and its Rastafarian ideals gained mainstream acceptance, largely due to Bob Marley in 1970s and early 80s, dreadlocks became a notable fashion statement worldwide. They have since been worn by prominent artists actors, athletes and rappers over the last five decades.
While dreads have been worn for various reasons in many cultures, their use has also been raised in debates about cultural appropriation.
Mainstream acceptance: When reggae music and its Rastafarian ideals gained popularity, largely due to Bob Marley in 1970s, dreads became a notable fashion statement worldwide