Kardashians are slammed for ‘cultural appropriation and disrespect’ for Māori haka

The Kardashian family have been accused of cultural appropriation a countless amount of times over their long history in the spotlight.

And on Sunday, the famous clan faced fresh backlash after sharing a video performing a Māori war dance. 

Keeping Up With The Kardashians fans in New Zealand described the use of the ceremonial haka dance as ‘wildly inappropriate’, ‘disrespectful’ and ‘insulting’.

Scroll down for video 

Appearing on Scott Disick’s Instagram story, Kim’s children Saint and North, Kourtney’s daughter Penelope Disick and two others were seen performing their own rendition of Ka Mate; a Kiwi war dance.

Over the years, the All Blacks have primarily performed ‘Ka Mate’ – a haka that was composed by Te Rauparaha. 

Standing on a staircase, the five youngsters were focused as they sung part of the lyrics while performing the actions.  

Not only did the children perform the sacred dance, but they also took the time to learn the correct words and pronunciations to go along with the war cry.

Kourtney Kardashian’s ex Scott Disick, who has 24 million followers, shared the clip with the caption: ‘TikTok ya don’t stop. Ain’t got nothing on us!’ 

Some fans were not comfortable with the traditional and culturally-significant dance being used for TikTok content.

‘Thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse?The Kardashians think the Haka is a Tik Tok dance,’ one Twitter user claimed. 

‘My heritage better not be a damned TikTok dance challenge. I don’t care that they’ve learned the real words rather than making up their own, this is sacred. STOP APPROPRIATING CULTURES,’ another user raged.

Also venting their frustrations, another Tweet read: ‘Gurl shut up, it’s appropriating culture and the Kardashians are infamous for it.’ 

‘Why the f**k are the Kardashian West Disick kids doing a haka on Scott’s story? That feels wildly inappropriate?’ another questioned, as others simply pointed to their complete disbelief in seeing the upload.

‘Why did I just see a video of the kardashian kids doing the haka? What is going on,’ one fan asked.

However, not all people were repulsed by the childrens’ attempt at the haka.

However, some Māori leaders have defended the Kardashians and think their video might help positively promote the culture globally.

‘On the one hand, it’s a great thing. On the other hand, I would love to have a conversation with them about what the haka means and what motivated them to do it,’ Māori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki told Star News. 

‘It has to be done with true intent. It’s not just something that’s good for Instagram or social media,’ Tukaki added for clarification. 

 

In agreement with Tukaki, some Twitter users insisted it felt ‘more like appreciation in this context’ as the children were not poking fun at the war cry or dance.

‘They pronounced most of the words better than half the people I know do,’ one fan claimed.

Others said they were only children enjoying themselves, and should not be subject to such debate.

‘Very cute, but very random,’ another said of the puzzling upload.

The Kardahians are yet to issue an official comment on the backlash.

While the family have no known ancestral ties to New Zealand, Khloé recently confirmed a big Kiwi business move.

In October, Khloé was revealed as the new global spokesperson for New Zealand-founded collagen brand Dose & Co.   

The 36-year-old reality TV star explained to People two months ago that Dose & Co helped her health after she welcomed her daughter True Thompson in 2018.