The launch of actor Michael B. Jordan's new rum brand, originally called "J-Ouvert," was met with immediate backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation due to the name.
Over the weekend, the "Black Panther" star celebrated the new brand with a series of Instagram posts. Instagram stories from Jordan's girlfriend Lori Harvey were among the congratulatory posts that included the rum.
An annual festival with origins in Trinidad, J'ouvert - an Antillean Creole French term translating to "daybreak" - goes back to the 18th century, during a time when people were still enslaved in the Caribbean country.
Trinidadian born rapper, Nicki Minaj encouraged Michael B Jordan to reconsider using the word J'ouvert as a brand name because of its historical significance.
Minaj explained in her response to the incident that she did not believe Jordan would "deliberately do anything he believed Caribbean people would find insulting" in his post.
Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon, , told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday that her office was looking into whether Jordan had trademarked the name.
Jordan posted an apology and confirmed plans to change the name after "a lot of listening" to the community.
Comentarios