'Racist' Harry Styles Poses in Native American Headdress
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One Direction star Harry Styles is at the centre of a racism row after posting an image of himself in a Native American headdress.
The 20-year-old singer provoked a backlash when he shared the image on Twitter and Instagram, with some fans branding it offensive.
Criticism was spearheaded by a popular Twitter account, @1DUpdates, which has almost 800,000 followers.
cultural appropriation is not nice, regardless of context or intent. let's leave it at that.
— 1D Updates (@1Dneews) March 14, 2014
Some supporters accused the account, run by @sharon__scottm @tiffanyytao, @kristyleaa and @sydneyanne_x, of portraying Taylor Swift's former lover in a negative light.
"Maybe he just liked the way it looked on his head," a user by the name of Annie hit back.
As the debate boiled over on social media, the account continued to defend its stance and insisted that Styles was a role model who had a responsibilty to his fans.
@annabelchr trying to downplay it to protect him. i love harry and i'm sure he's not 'racist' but we shouldn't turn a blind eye.
— 1D Updates (@1Dneews) March 14, 2014
perpetuate it myself. that's why it's even more important to recognize our mistakes and to act on them.
— 1D Updates (@1Dneews) March 14, 2014
i don't think harry is a bad person. i think there's underlying inequality all around the world in current times. i know that i even-
— 1D Updates (@1Dneews) March 14, 2014
Although Styles has not commented on the backlash, he has deleted the image.
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