Adele Defended By David Lammy, Naomi Campbell And Alexandra Burke Amid Carnival Pic Debate

The singer has been accused of cultural appropriation after she was seen sporting Bantu knots and a Jamaican flag-print bikini.
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Labour MP David Lammy and musician Alexandra Burke are among the stars who have shown support to Adele after her recent Instagram post divided opinion.

Over the weekend, Adele commemorated what would have been Notting Hill Carnival with a photo of herself sporting Bantu knots and a Jamaican flag-print bikini.

However, the outfit led to a lot of conversation on social media, with some critics accusing the singer of cultural appropriation.

While Adele is yet to comment on the matter herself, she has been defended by some public figures, including David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, where Adele was born and raised.

Branding the cultural appropriation row “poppycock”, he tweeted: “This humbug totally misses the spirit of Notting Hill Carnival and the tradition of ‘dress up’ or ‘masquerade’...

“Adele was born and raised in Tottenham she gets it more than most. Thank you Adele. Forget the Haters.”

Meanwhile, chart-topping singer Alexandra Burke told the BBC’s Carnival tribute show: “I see the pic. She looks hot… As a Jamaican girl myself, my girl has grown up in black culture. People forget she’s from Tottenham. She probably eats jerk chicken all the time like all of us.

“All I’m saying is the girl looked good, leave her. Allow her man.”

Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Burke
David Parry - PA Images via Getty Images

Alexandra also pointed out that Jamaican musician Popcaan had commented favourably on the picture, adding: “If Popcaan is going to endorse it and say yes my girl you’re wearing the flag and you’re wearing it well.

“Let her live her best life, leave her alone. We love Adele.”

Popcaan commented on Adele's photo with the heart and fist emojis
Popcaan commented on Adele's photo with the heart and fist emojis
Joseph Okpako via Getty Images

Before the picture went viral, a number of prolific stars also commented on it favourably, including actors Tessa Thompson and Zoe Saldana, with the former posting a heart emoji and the latter writing: “You look right at home guurrrl.”

Supermodel Naomi Campbell also commented on Adele’s post with heart emojis, as well as the Jamaican flag.

Naomi Campbell, Tessa Thompson and Zoe Saldana
Naomi Campbell, Tessa Thompson and Zoe Saldana
Matt Baron/MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Although Adele is renowned for keeping a low profile, she has broken cover a number of times lately, and got everyone talking with her Instagram updates.

Back in May, she marked her 32nd birthday with a post thanking key workers for “keeping us safe while risking their lives” during lockdown.

A few weeks later, she also revealed that she’d been revisiting her iconic Glastonbury set while at home, with fans spotting a subtle nod to her London roots in the background of her picture.

Earlier this month, she heaped praise on Beyoncé following the release of the Disney+ film Black Is King, and recently admitted she had “no idea” when her fourth album would be released, when one fan questioned if the follow-up to 2015′s 25 was on the way.

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