Pamela Anderson accused of cultural appropriation after wearing Native American headdress for Halloween

'How could you not know this was wrong?'

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Monday 04 November 2019 16:45 EST
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Pamela Anderson faces backlash over Native American Halloween costume (Getty)
Pamela Anderson faces backlash over Native American Halloween costume (Getty)

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Pamela Anderson is facing backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation after sharing photos of herself dressed in a traditional Native American headdress and white underwear for Halloween.

In one of the photos, which Anderson shared to social media, she can be seen covered in white paint and holding the feathered headpiece behind her shoulder.

The second photo sees the 52-year-old posing on stairs while wearing the headdress, which are typically worn by male leaders for ceremonial purposes.

The actress captioned the photos: “Happy Halloween.”

The costume sparked criticism from people on Twitter, who accused the former Baywatch star of being racially insensitive.

“This is really disappointing and racist Pam, I thought you were better than this,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Native Americans are not costumes…”

Others accused the actress, who has previously advocated on behalf of animal rights, of being hypocritical by wearing bird feathers.

“And you wore the feathers of how many dead birds, Pam? Cultural appropriation, racism and hypocrisy all in one photo shoot. I’m sure folks at Peta are mighty proud of their association with you,” one person wrote.

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Anderson has not issued a comment on the controversy, however, she appeared to acknowledge it on Twitter, where she shared a link to an article titled: “The Illogic of Cultural Appropriation.”

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