The 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star is also called out by online trolls for deactivating comments on her Instagram post where she promotes the distilled product.
- May 20, 2021
AceShowbiz - Kendall Jenner has landed in hot water once again over her 818 tequila. Having launched a new advertisement for the distilled product, the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star was accused of cultural appropriation by many social media users.
The 25-year-old first shared the commercial clip on the official Instagram account of 818 on Monday, May 17. She also turned to her own page to unveil some pictures from the ad and a video of herself watching a farmer distilling the tequila. She captioned it, "what an incredible experience i have had thus far, learning about this beautiful place, it's beautiful culture, and the beautiful people!"
The older sister of Kylie Jenner added, "@drink818 has launched in California... we will be rolling out to the rest of the US all summer long, keep a look out!!!" The supermodel, however, deactivated the comment section of the post.
Kendall has since drawn criticism from many on Twitter. One critic in particular argued, "not Kendall Jenner disabling her comments on the post of her appropriating our culture for her tequila launch." Another sarcastically penned, "@KendallJenner doing her best impression of a Mexican laborer! so refreshing to see that nepotism and cultural appropriation is still a profitable combo."
The backlash continued with one tweeted, "Kendall Jenner roamed through fields of agave on horseback to announce the launch of her 818 tequila brand in California with moody visuals shared to Instagram on Monday. despite tequila's deep-rooted Mexican history having no affiliation to the affluent community she grew up." Someone else raged, "@KendallJenner muted comments on her pictures from Jalisco because she wants to silence the voices of those telling her that it's cultural appropriation."
Despite the heat, some people came to Kendall's defense. An individual declared, "I can tell you that as a Mexican, Kendall Jenner's tequila campaign in no shape or form offends me. Please stop getting offended for us." Another chimed in, "I gotta be honest man, I don't care that Kendall Jenner is making tequila. She could make her own brand of menudo and I wouldn't give a s**t."
This was not the first time Kendall was blasted for cultural appropriation. She was hit by the same accusations in February after announcing her 818 brand. "Kendall Jenner starting a tequila brand, with zero knowledge on Mexican culture and calling it '818 tequila' is GENTRIFICATION. The 818 does not claim Calabasas. What about those smaller, family owned Mexican tequila/mezcal brands? They deserve the hype & support," one hater fumed at that time.
