Category Archives: Naturally Me Sips

Have you guys been following this dreadlocks controversy between teenage actress Zendaya and Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic? Just in case you missed it, Zendaya showed up to the Oscars with fresh faux dreads. She wore them in a Lisa Bonet-esque up down style. They were actually cute. The dress she wore….meh. When speaking about Zendaya, Giuliana said, ” I love Zendaya’s style and I love when she has the little hair. She has such a tiny frame that this hair to me overwhelms her. I feel like she smells like patchouli oil, or weed. ” This comment drew backlash from Zendaya herself, other celebrities, bloggers, etc. When she said the statement, her co-host Kelly Osbourne looked very uncomfortable.

The next day Zendaya issued this statement via Twitter:

Very commendable response by Zendaya. Very poised and classy. She mentioned other notable naturals and even her family members who also wear dreads. Phee and I discussed this and both agree that Giuliana’s comment would’ve been received as a joke if she were a comedian. Especially given the context of the show, Joan Rivers was notorious for making inappropriate comments, but she was a comedian. Giuliana is not. Giuliana did perpetuate a stereotype with black people wearing dreads. Which is always a no no, but I’m not going to petition for her to lose her job over it.

If and I say if, Zendaya was red-eyed, holding a blunt, walking with Snoop, then perhaps this lame joke would’ve worked. But, this was not the case. Zendaya looked clear-headed, elegant, and beautiful. Now, the dress in my opinion was not my favorite. It does look like a wedding reception gown. You can tell it was customized and she chose the appropriate accessories, but it doesn’t wow me. That’s just my opinion. A friend of mine told me I was wrong and the dress was gorgeous, but not to me and I’m sticking with it. Lol. Below is Zendaya and the original version of this dress. This is what Giuliana should’ve been speaking about instead of the gorgeous looking faux locs.

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier Giuliana received some harsh response to her words. She apologized with an excuse on Twitter and then issued this apology.

Now, this was almost a damned if you do, damned if you don’t moment for her. Some people and celebrities don’t believe that her apology was good enough. What are your thoughts? Yes, she was probably coached, but if you are a celebrity wouldn’t that be the case? I mean, she says she learned a lesson and apologized. And she did it in a timely manner. Other people sound like they want her to kiss Zendaya and every other natural hair person of color’s feet.

Come on now. Again, I don’t think people should lose sight of the type of show where this comment was made. She just sucked at it. She’s not Joan. I do understand the racist undertones because one moment apparently she is praising Kylie Jenner for her locs and accusing Zendaya of basically being a pothead while wearing hers. That’s not cool, she should be called out for it and I hope within her apology this was part of the lesson she learned. Notice, Kathy Griffin’s agreement to the weed reference is rarely mentioned. Why? She’s that type of comedian.

Here’s another shot of her dress.

Cocoa Drops, what do you make of all of this?

KT