Getty Kenya Moore in 2019
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore is taking accountability for her actions. Moore has publicly released a statement apologizing after receiving backlash for wearing a Native American headdress on the most recent episode of RHOA.
Moore referred to the outfit as a, “Warrior Princess” costume. She donned the outfit during a Halloween party at Falynn Guobadia’s home. The 50-year-old reality star initially defended her costume saying it was, “part of my heritage.” Moore has since deleted the tweet, as reported by People.
Moore is now apologizing for her actions and called her outfit, “disrespectful and insensitive.”
“I want to sincerely apologize for inappropriately wearing the Native American headdress as a costume,” she wrote in a statement she tweeted Tuesday, March 23. “I now realize that this was both disrespectful and insensitive and would never have done it if I had that knowledge and understanding beforehand. I regret it. When you know better, you do better. I am genuinely sorry.”
Moore’s RHOA Co-Stars Did Not Have Her Back
Many of the RHOA ladies didn’t agree with Moore’s costume. “Kenya’s Native American costume is super problematic but I ain’t trying to ruffle no feathers for this girls trip,” fellow RHOA cast member Drew Sidora said in a confessional. “It feels like I’m always the only one that sees the issues with Kenya Moore’s decisions.”
Longtime cast member Porsha Williams agreed saying, “Kenya is a Native American warrior. I thought we weren’t doing that no more. Like, I knew that this girl was crazy, but add lame to the list, add whack to the list.” Williams stood by her statement during the RHOA After show, referring to the costume as, “head-to-toe cultural appropriation.”
LaToya Ali chimed in saying, “I couldn’t take Kenya seriously as we were having the conversation because she was in an Indian-chief costume. … Isn’t that called cultural appropriation?”
One RHOA cast member did try and have their friend’s back. “To be honest with you, I didn’t think anything of it,” Kandi Burruss told Ali. “I don’t think she was wearing the costume to mock anyone, and I think she thought it was a beautiful costume because it’s the sign of a leader — a chief is someone to look up to, not to be made fun of. And I don’t think she was doing it as a joke to be mean or anything like that.”
Bravo Also Issued an Apology
Moore wasn’t the only one apologizing for the costume. Bravo also addressed the situation. “Bravo aims to have the highest standards of respect and inclusivity and we recognize that the recent episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, in which a cast member wears a Native American costume, did not uphold those values,” Bravo said in a statement to People.
The statement continued, “We had hoped it would provide a teachable moment, however, in retrospect, it is clear that the network did not address this properly given the gravity of the situation. We apologize to both the Native American community and our audience as a whole.”
READ NEXT: VIDEO: Real Housewives of New York City Season 13 Trailer