While for the main producer, Carnival Tribe, the optics surrounding the international celebrity, La La Anthony wearing a carnival costume for Halloween may have looked great, many citizens of Trinidad and Tobago do not seem to share these sentiments.
“I’ve never been to a carnival, so I brought the carnival to me,” La La wrote under a photo she shared of herself on Sunday, ahead of Halloween. A bedazzled feathered costume showed off the American TV personality’s curves, but despite the beauty, many commented wryly, arguing that Anthony had chosen the culture of Trinidad and Tobago as a Halloween costume and citing cultural appropriation.
Tribe Carnival, obviously unfazed by the social influencer’s post, took the opportunity to invite La La to T&T for the carnival. “You have to come to Trinidad for Carnival,” their post read, followed by four fire emojis and Trinidad and Tobago flags. Anthony did not respond, however the Tribe would soon be called out by some Trinbagonians in the comments section for choosing to ignore the obvious issue and instead opting to trade carnival business. “This is very disrespectful to our culture. Do you know the meaning of carnival and our costumes”, one person wrote. Another person channeled their disdain and towards the massive group saying: “@carnivaltribe you are going to be so (expletive) thirsty. Instead of trying to inform her that carnival costumes should not be used for Halloween, you are all here looking for an invitation. You should all be ashamed.”
In June 2021, Black Panther actor Michael B Jordan came under fire after labeling his rum, “J’ouvert Rum”. He was also accused of cultural appropriation, with citizens of Trinidad and Tobago condemning the actor and his crew for the act. Anger flared further after news emerged that a trademark application for the word J’ouvert for use on the product had been made with the World Intellectual Property Organization. Jordan’s team later made the decision to change the name of the rum.
Separately, LaLa’s decision to don the carnival costume was panned by many of her cohorts in the entertainment industry internationally. Celebrities like Chloe Bailey, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Bryant, Khloe Kardashian, Bia, Bernice Burgos and Ciara all stamp their approval under the images shared on Instagram.
