Maajid Nawaz Takes "Cultural Appropriation" Apart, Piece By Piece

The LBC presenter responds to accusations of cultural appropriation levelled at white children wearing Moana Halloween costumes.

White parents who allow their children to dress up as Disney heroine Moana could be guilty of cultural appropriation, racial activists have warned.

It has been claimed allowing children not of Polynesian heritage to dress as the fictional film character is racially insensitive and risks belittling people from those cultures.

Maajid Nawaz dismantled the accusation until he reached its absurd conclusion.

Maajid described the application of "cultural appropriation" to the Moana costume as "absurd". Picture: LBC

He said: "So you can't be the little mermaid, because you're not a mermaid either and that would be appropriating fish culture?

"It's a good thing that people are mixing. It's a good thing people are blending in and adopting means and ways of other cultures, it's a good thing people are aspiring to role models like Moana from different backgrounds, if they're white, because it means they're looking up to people of colour, which can only be a good thing.

"It means their role models aren't just white people, what's wrong with a white child having a role model who's not a white child and wanting to dress like them or be like them?

"So parents, you're not racist if your children want to dress up as Disney princesses of a different skin colour.

"You're not somehow belittling Polynesian culture if your child wants to look up to and dress like Moana, she's doing it out of admiration not mockery, this isn't black face people."

Watch the whole takedown at the top of this page.