by
Christina Patrice
Actress Zendaya Coleman stunned at the Oscars on Sunday, walking the red carpet in a white, floor-length gown and faux locs. Coleman unmistakably made her mark in the increasing trend of actresses rocking natural do’s on the red carpet and it was embraced with open arms by everyone except… E!’s Fashion Police co-host Giuilana Rancic. According to the Fashion Police Oscars special Monday night co-host, Coleman “smells like patchouli oils….and weed.”
I promise, you can’t make this stuff up.
https://vine.co/v/OQPwPeLLurz
While Rancic and her other co-hosts laughed it off, social media and online publications went into an uproar over the distastefully ignorant comment, and Giuilana got a well-deserved e-dragging.
Here are some of the top responses via Twitter:
what I don’t understand is that Kylie jenners locs were considered stylish and edgy but when zendaya does it she smells like weed how rude
— juliet ,, (@skeletonarry) February 24, 2015
PAUSE . I need white ppl to not talk about Black hair that they obviously don’t understand . @Zendaya is flawless . Chill #FashionPolice
— Alex Jordan (@ItsAlexJordan) February 24, 2015
Your racist and xenophobic statement about Zendaya’s hair wasn’t funny. Try being interesting, for once. Make it a goal. @GiulianaRancic — Trudy (@thetrudz) February 24, 2015
Coleman herself released a well articulated, thoughtful, and educational response to Rancic’s rude commentary via social media:
Image courtesy of NecoleBitchie.com In true foot-in-mouth form, Rancic has backpeddled and offered a cookie-cutter apology via Twitter (that suggests she hadn’t even read Zendaya’s response):
Dear @Zendaya, I’m sorry I offended you and others. I was referring to a bohemian chic look. Had NOTHING to do with race and NEVER would!!!
— Giuliana Rancic (@GiulianaRancic) February 24, 2015
Yet another case of racism guised as good-natured rib tickling commentary.
What do you think about Giuliana Rancic’s comments on Zendaya Coleman’s hair?
55 Responses
Are you upset? Sorry but not sorry. The one drop rule means nothing and it’s racist to tell someone to deny half their ancestry. JS.
I for one am very proud of Zendaya. Not only did she keep it moving when folks said she wasn’t black enough to play Aaliyah, she carried herself with grace on the red carpet proudly showing locs in a glamorous light, and she responded to a catty, racial remark with dignity and knowledge of her culture. This is a young lady to be considered a role model!
She’s black AND white. Not black. She’s mulatto. End of story. There’s nothing to debate here. It’s what it is.
Sure.
Sure.
I think what she was trying to do was push the envelope ala Joan Rivers, and simply fell flat on her face!
While Funmi’s comments are “outlandish” they come from a place of complete ignorance.
How interesting that Zendaya was called out by the black community for not being “black enough” to play Aaliyah, but now that a white person has discriminated against her she’s a daughter of Zion. Lol Black people need to look at themselves too. Why do mixed race and light skinned people always have to prove their blackness before the community will rally around them? Now she can represent us as a black woman SMH
I agree with you on the fact that many black folk are just being damn hypocrites and are now considering her an “honorary” black woman. For those of us with sense we are looking at the bigger picture. The goal should not be to defend Zendaya as a black woman (since she aint black) but to call out typical white BS that glorifies ethnic attributes on whites but condemns ethnic attributes on non-whites. If they are ripping into the mixed girl then only lord knows this ET looking chick would’ve said something even more disparaging about a black woman with locs. But I’m personally over BS white thoughts.
What do you mean she isn’t black?
She’s half Caucasian. Therefore she is mixed race not black. Hopefully that answers your question 😉
Which would indeed make her Black and White….Irish to be exact. While is not Black via both her parents, she is still Black. This need to characterize someone’s race is what got people talking about Zendaya in the first place, a year ago!
“While is not Black via both her parents, she is still Black”
How is she “still” black but not white? Complete illogic. There’s no need to “characterize” race. Just apply basic common sense. And no what had people talking about her is the fact that they were trying to pass off a non-black woman as black in a biopic. That was the problem.
I guess people being considered “unclean” and “impure” and BLACK with even ONE drop of blood in their veins for decades in the US means nothing, and all of us mixed girls are not black. I guess I’m actually Mulatto, native, mex, et c. Keep turning your backs on us mixed girls, PEASE. When you are all alone, with people judging you and being prejudiced against you for being black AND a woman, remember that your lighter skinned neighbor is not your sister and that you truly are alone.
And what about mixed people who LOOK black but are half white? Not black. Kay.
fyi, “mixed race” is not its own ethnicity. She is both black and white. They are not mutually exclusive.
Meh. Semantics. You get the point.
I know I’m late on the reply, but i mean it’s not just semantics. You said the complete opposite thing – that she’s not black. She IS black. And white.
So if she has kids by a black man, what race is the kid? Well, would the kid be half black and half mulatto even though the child could be darker complected? At what point does a mulatto’s descendants become black. Who establishes the criteria? LMAO. If I see Zendaya in the street, I would describe her as a young, black lady. Hell, she doesn’t even look mulatto to me. LMAO. People really need to stop.
The kid would be of both african and irish descent. Your complexion has nothing to do with your ethnicity.
Unfortunately that’s not a box you can check on governmental forms. Complexion and features have everything to do with race.
… you can check more than one box, typically. i’m not sure what you’re talking about.
People need to understand the difference between race and ethinicity before acting like experts! No one was talking of ethnicity. A person born of Japanese parents may be ethincally more American than Japanese, especially when you talking about 3rd and 4th generations. African Americans will never be considered ethincally West Africans unless they lived in one of the countries and adopted the culture. Race = physical appearance, features, complexion, hair texture. Ethnicity = cultural norms, customs and to some extent physical appearance. Zendaya obviously appears to be ethnically African American.
And if she was albino? Ethnicity refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture, ANCESTRY, and language. Her ancestors are African and Irish. She is ethnically African American, but she is also ethnically Irish American.
People need to understand the difference between race and ethinicity before acting like experts!
Just because she’s half doesn’t mean she isn’t black. Her dad is full black and her mom is white.
She wasn’t called out for “not being black enough”. The person who cast her as Aaliyah was called out for not casting a girl that looked at least a little like Aaliyah. As for that movie, what’s this world coming to when a girl that looks like Missy Elliot is considered too dark and too heavy to be cast as Missy Elliot? SMH.
I think if she was white depending on the hairstyle, the same could be said. To ME patchouli and weed are more associated with the hippie lifestyle and not necessarily rastas. I could be wrong though. Everyone have their personal likes and dislikes and the basis of their show is to make a witty, bordering on insulting, remark about stars’ outfits. If you don’t have thick skin,u don’ need to be in the public eye. Worse have been said about others. There are not many of us who do not make stereotypical jokes. That doesn’t make right but its quite normal. I think her response was unnecessary and way overboard. Not everyone look at things through racist lenses, and nowadays that seem to be the charge.
Giuilana Rancic is a racist buffoon.
Im so over the blatant racism that they wrap in the form of a joke. this on heels of Sean Penn’s comments about the oscar-winning Mexican director “who gave this bastard his green card “.
white people really feel that they have the right to say whatever they want and as long as they claim it’s a joke thats supposed to make it OK. and they think just because they have a Mexican in this case that suddenly it gives them a pass?just because you’re friends with this particular Mexican person does not mean you get to throw out racist slurs about entire nationality of people! he does not speak for all Mexicans. It never ends and I’m so sick of it…
when we reject this blatant use of stereotypes and racist slurs against us suddenly we have to be put on the defense and are told that we have no sense of humor or that we are taking things too seriously and we’re looking for racism… you don’t have to look for it! let one of them open their mouths and it becomes quite plain what they think about us . now I know that underneath all GR’s phony charm is a racist who thinks these things and doesn’t even have the balls to stand behind what she said. her blanket apology was empty and insincere and she can shove it!!
Yeah, I like your comment. I can feel your anger behind this. I am wondering where this came from. I think, I’m guessing, it’s because they are a majority and that they have privileges so it constructs them to say what they want without no repercussions. I read that Carter Godwin Woodrow said that we are the most docile and tractable race so she emphasizes that. I clicked on a link on a video and the topic was saying that caucasian’s have “no empathy”. This was a few years ago. This country was built on racism. People have been making blunt statements about a certain minority for years on end. I also read that Caucasians and Blacks do not have an iffinity for one another as they were conditioned from the beginning to see each other as different. What do they not understand about kinky hair? What is wrong here?
Zendaya looks stunning and I love the fact that she’s embracing and paying homage to her black roots and her black relatives. I don’t want to say anything rude about Giuliana but what she said was the most offensive ignorant comment about black hair that I’ve ever heard( I’m not joking, I’m still in shock ) and it didn’t make it any better that her co-host laughed when she said it. I understand Zendaya’s anger over it.
Agreed!…and I liked Zendaya’s retort (very classy and mature, unlike her offender)…she held her own and I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Zendaya looks great. The backpedaling from that comment was a failure. It doesn’t matter if it was about race, calling out a stereotype is just as bad. Smh. Glad I don’t watch that show.
Poor Zendaya, it shouldn’t have even gotten this far. It’s just hair. Guiliana was wrong bc she had word vomit, she’s not a racist though. It shouldn’t have been made into this big mess. She looks gorgeous, don’t even know why anything negative was said about her. Either way, everyone got a little emotional and things got carried away…welcome to Hollywood.
I took the comment to be an insult to hippies. It never entered my mind when I heard GR’s words that she was being racist. I don’t know what she meant, but you have to know that you just can’t say anything. You have to think before you speak. Even if she was talking about hippies or whoever, it’s still an uncool comment.
A few points/questions…
1. I don’t remember anyone saying kylies locs were stylish. In fact it seems to me that zendaya got far more compliments (and kylie got more insults).
2. I love fashion police – although, its not the same since Joan passed. And if your’e a fan like myself, you’ll know that insults are thrown around like its nothing. In fact I think worse has been said. I remember once Joan was talking about a celeb kid, I think it was North West, and she said some really horrible stuff. Stuff that you should never say about a child. But she set the tone for the show. Some find it funny, some don’t but thats just the show.
3. Why are locs considered acceptable in the natural hair community if the whole idea is accepting your hair how it grows out of your head? You weren’t born with that hair, you altered it, just like how relaxers alter your hair. No shade, i’m genuinely curious. There have been a few articles recently on locs on this website and I was quite surprised because I never considered them as being natural. I’m not against thembtw, it just seems a bit hypocritical to me.
The only people i’ve ever heard of having locs growing out of their head naturally are called Dada in Nigeria. My dad was one actually but they were shaved off. Anyways, even amongst Nigerians there is debate. My grandma insisted that my dad was born with dreadlocks, but my mum (and many others) think its all BS. Apparently some children are just born with really tough, coarse hair and it locks together as they grow older. They aren’t actually born with little baby dreads. But my point is that they are created therfore they arent exactly natural. Or is the term natural just used to wage war on relaxers lol
4. My last point is probably going to be quite unpopular but I just have to make it…
Why are dreadlocks considered property of black people? I know they came into prominence with the rasta movement, but I dont belive they were the first. Wasn’t samson in the Bible described as having dreadlocks. Also I know some Asian cultures have worn locs for centuries (I think for religious purposes). I’m not saying they were the first, cause some African cultures have worn dreads for centuries too.
“When reggae music gained popularity and mainstream acceptance in the 1970s, the locks (often called “dreads”) became a notable fashion statement; they were worn by prominent authors, actors, athletes and rappers, and were even portrayed as part of gang culture in such movies as Marked for Death. Dreadlocks aren’t always worn for religious or cultural reasons. People may wear them just for style.”
Does that mean that the west (black americans included) are appropriating African, Carribean, Asian cultures? becasue I dont believe even black americans wore their hair in dreads before the rise of reggae etc.
Is that a serious question, or are you trolling? How are they not natural?
Relaxers are a chemical alteration that cannot be reversed. Locs are simply allowing your hair to do what it wants to naturally, which is get tangled.
Contrary to popular belief, you can remove locs without cutting them. You can’t do that with relaxed hair. It’s not the same thing.
Locs are still hair in it’s natural state. Locs are what happens when you don’t detangle you hair. manicured locs are simply guiding the hair to tangle in a specific way, unlike freeform locs that are allowed to tangle in any which way it pleases. If you stopped combing your hair, freeform locs will form.
If anything, locs could be considered more natural than loose hair because it requires far less manipulation. People usually two strand twist of finger coil their hair and leave it for up to a year before locs fully form.
It was a serious question
Ok so now that you’ve answered that question, can you then explain to me why locs are considered a black thing? Cause if locs are formed by just letting your hair do its thing then everyones hair would turn into dreadlocks if they just left it alone, regardless of race. So if this is the case then why is Guilianas comment considered racist if every race can grow their hair into locs? The two groups that immediately spring to mind when I think of dreadlocks are Rastafarians and hippies – Zendaya is neither so i’m a bit confused as to why her blackness is being brought into this.
Also Zendayas locs are not free formed therefore they are not natural, surely?
Dreadlocks have been around since the beginning of humanity. If you don’t comb your hair, dreadlocks will eventually form. This is true of all races.
But manicured locs? It’s considered a Black thing because while all hair will loc eventually, other races cannot achieve the same results we do with manicured locs without having to do a lot more.
I finger coiled my hair and it loc’d within six months. This is because the coily nature of my hair makes it far easier for my hair to tangle on its own.
People with straight or wavy hair textures cannot achieve manicured locs simply by twisting or coiling their hair. The twists and coils will become loose. In order for them to get manicured locs, they have to use techniques like back combing or beeswax. And even with freeform locs, it can take anywhere from 5 to ten years for a person with straight hair to mat.
So while anyone can have dreadlocks, Blacks for the most part are the only ones who can have locs without having to do too much.
Dreadlocks have been around since the beginning of humanity, but manicured locs were pioneered by Africans, and that’s why it’s a ‘Black’ thing.
Also, Zendaya’s locs are extensions, so technically they are not natural. But she is mimicking a natural style.
And yes, manicured locs are still natural because NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO ALTER THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE OF THE HAIR.
The difference between manicured and freeform locs is that one is guided and the other is not.
Freeform locs happen when you do nothing but wash it. How many locs and how thick they will be will mostly be a mystery. Manicured locs have been guided into locing in to a specific number of locs. By your logic, anyone who does some as simple as two strand twist their hair (without the intention of locing it) isn’t natural either.
Black hair naturally locks, even curly hair does. That’s why it’s a natural black hairstyle.
I am sure others reading this think you might be acting dull, but let’s work on this step by step.
1. I can’t comment.
2. Absolutely, there is comedy that is built on insult and even on racial tension that is hilarious. I don’t know if Fashion Police counts. But, by all means, some comments must expect massive backlash, and comedians judge the backlash vs. joke delivery/acceptance ratio as part of their job. Sometimes they win, most times they win and lose and decide if the loss is acceptable.
3. You can’t be serious. Yes, natural refers to not using relaxer (or fake hair that has the quality of being relaxed). Which planet did you just fall off of? (Locs also require no detangling with an apparatus, which, if your father is indeed from Nigeria, you must know does not feel anything like a natural process when your hair has any sort of kink or spiral to it.) NATURAL. As in not coating the head in carcinogenic chemicals a few times a year to look as if the wearer was not born with kinky and curly hair. NATURAL. As in not hot-gluing someone else’s hair to your head in order to pretend your genes come from Africa but somehow your hair came from India.
4. I hope that nobody has said dreadlocks are only the property of black people, and if they do they are morons and need to learn to use the google-machine. However, culturally, in the U.S., it is incredibly common for white people with employment/ power/ policy making/ public sentiment building/other status positions to make fun of, discriminate against, and marginalize black women who wear their hair in any style that is not using chemicals, heat, and fake hair, along with an insane amount of time, to imitate straight/ wavy Caucasian hair. Dreadlocks, braids, cornrows, afros, twists, puffs, and shorn are all fair game for ridicule, braids being the least “controversial.”
(**As an aside, again, man.. seriously.. what planet did you fall off of? Yes, dreadlocked Samson was of the 12 Tribes, but the Hittites, where the Tribe of Dan were from, were middle eastern, from directly across the sea from AFRICA. The Bible is a collection of stories and history of Middle Eastern and African people. Even ancient Caucasians- as in, from the Caucasus mountains- were brown skinned, dark haired people. The Hebrews, Israelites, and Egyptians were brown to black skinned peoples and the Hebrews became predominantly white-skinned Jews through mating with northern Europeans… If you are wondering where racism and the oppression of dark skin came from, look it up. But it sure as heck didn’t COME FROM the Bible, it was instituted much later.)
Calling them “Dreadlocks”is Rastafarian- as in growing them will give the dread/fear of Jah. But locked hair worn in ropes? This is found in all ancient human inhabited regions, worldwide. The African connection is just one, although there are many, many peoples in Africa that wear their hear in locs. But also, the aboriginal Australians, the Druids, The Nazca, The Sadhu, The Sufi, The Aztec, and the Mojave come up as examples, and mostly there is a spiritual or ruling class significance linked to the wearers.
BUT… THAT woman, the superbly beautiful woman in those pictures? Not a natural thing about that hair. I am glad she stood up for herself and fought the stereotype, but she didn’t grow that hair, that was hours and a whole lot of Indian women of turning her long, but not that long, hair into that hairstyle. I am on year 5 of dreadlocks from long natural hair, and let’s just say.. I call bull-patties.
You are clearly a white troll or a black self-hater to make such outlandish comments!!! The property of black people?! When you take something that is a cultural creation of one group and then appropriate to the mainstream without giving credit to the group that created it, that is a problem. And Jamaicans are BLACK, silly rabbit so it is still a black cultural creation! Duh!!!!! And natural hair is “waking up like this” either!!! We style our hair in its natural texture without altering it with chemicals…. geesh…there’s always an Aunt Jemima or Uncle Tom among us…..SMH
Honestly Funmi i cannot believe what i just read. Your comment is loaded with ignorance. I am Nigerian. I understand that dreads/locs are natural. I cannot even being to comment on the other things you said. Please pick up a book and educate yourself. Do not spend the whole day on facebook, instagram and twitter doing nothing. Look into certain topics and learn! Most importantly, learn about other cultures. Good day to you.
Its very difficult for me to be offended by a woman that resembles ET’s love child and a famine survivor. Nonetheless I expect nothing less of white folk to praise black hairstyles/attributes on whites while demeaning such natural characteristics on non-whites. So over it.
#IrrelevantWhiteOpinions
PREACH!! Wish I could give you 10,000 thumbs up!
She looks absolutely beautiful and I love her response. I agree ignorant comments such as that should not go unchecked. And thanks to this article and her response I am prompted to find out more about her.
I watched the oscars too but I glanced every now and then just because my mom left it on that channel and I was already glued to it. I didn’t expect this to come but If people have nothing nice to say, Why bother creating a problem? It’s February. This is not the month to do this. Why can’t a woman be stylish with her own hair? No one is saying anything wrong with your hair. They have been wearing their own for centuries. She’s 18, a year before me and she’s expressing herself. Let her express herself the way that you do yours. What is it about our hair that they don’t understand? How can you say that and not feel anything behind it? So rude.
Go Viola Davis and Lupita N’yongo.
Her back peddle is worse then the statement. I know plenty of “Bohemian Girls” that don’t smell of weed and patchouli. That’s like someone saying that she is a rude hefifer because she looks liks a stereyotypical anorexic and is Hangry all the time. Juliana needs to take several seats and spin. That’s not right at all. I wish that the co-host would have said something to her even if they were on air. Correct her on world wide television. And Zendaya, nicely said Girl!
You tell ’em girl ????????
I realize that what Joan Rivers said about people on “Fashion Police” was a thousand times more offensive than what Guiliana said.
However, the stereotype that all folks with locs smoke weed is old and tired.
True, but Joan Rivers we have always known to be that way. Juliana not so much. Not to mention Joan Rivers could take it as much as she gave it. So if she is going to say something like that then don’t back peddle when people yell at you.
She back peddled to keep her jobs and standing at E.
Joan Rivers Fashion Police commentary always came off as a comedian just trying to get a laugh while Guliana’s have always come across as mean spirited and catty. Believe me, I watch the show and she just doesn’t strike me as a nice person.
Zendaya is an awesome role model for young girls/women today. She carries herself like a young lady and looked beautiful on the red carpet.