Crossover country star Kacey Musgraves is being accused of cultural appropriation for “sexualizing” a traditional Vietnamese garment during a recent show.
She sported just the top half of an áo dài (the outfit typically includes pants) while performing in Dallas last week, resulting in social media fallout among certain viewers after she displayed the night’s fashion statement via Instagram stories.
“The sexualization of it was disgusting,” Thuy Pham, executive director of the New York City–based nonprofit Vietnam Heritage Center, explained to NBC News. “It was for shock value, it was annoying, and it was a misappropriation of Vietnamese culture.”
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Pham went on to detail how the outfits are traditionally uniforms worn by students or teachers in the classroom, or during special holidays like the Mid-Autumn Festival. Vietnamese couples have also been known to wear a specific type of áo dài during wedding ceremonies.
Popular beauty influencer Michelle Phan echoed Pham’s sentiments: “Imagine seeing your national traditional dress being disrespected on stage,” she shared on Instagram, as noted by Revelist. “Since she’s a public figure, she might influence more people to think it’s trendy.”
Musgraves has yet to comment on the situation.
