India Arie Slams Megan Thee Stallion & Janelle Monáe For Twerking On Stage w/ Fans During Essence Fest: ‘It Shows A Lack Of Discretion & Discernment’

India Arie, Megan Thee Stallion, Janelle Monáe

India Arie Slams Megan Thee Stallion & Janelle Monáe For Twerking On Stage w/ Fans During Essence Fest: ‘It Shows A Lack Of Discretion & Discernment’

Is India Arie against the “Hot Girl” movement?

This past weekend, many found themselves in New Orleans to enjoy the 2023 Essence Festival. The popular event included concerts, panel discussions, vendors, and much more! During the festival, Megan Thee Stallion was the headliner for night three, and in true “Hot Girl” fashion, she welcomed a few of her fans on stage to dance as she performed. Footage of the fun moment shared by the official Essence Festival Instagram account also shows Janelle Monáe on stage cheering for the concertgoers. The caption for the post reads,

“Hot girl bootcamp was in full effect last night. It’s @janellemonae with the encouragement for us”

Despite the dance moment seemingly being harmless, fellow entertainer India Arie left a criticizing comment under the post, letting the world know she’s against what went down. The “Brown Skin” artist wrote,

“The issue is what is CONTEXT. Humanity does EVERYTHING. But does EVERYTHING BELONG IN A STAGE. No. is everything for KIDS? No. is everything for EVERY BODY? NO. so when we as a culture make something like this main stream ~ it shows a lack of discretion [and] discernment.”

She continued,

“To those in the comments who laugh at anyone who wants these things for out culture you certainly have that right. Just as many folks have the right to want our MAINSTREAM International export – out Music – to show us in a respectful light. Id like to go on the record saying : this wont age well and thats my issue.”

She added,

“i LOVE Janelle AND Meg the way i love us all ~ AND i dont like this moment. Dont bother debating me lol idc and I DO this. for 25 yrs i’ve done THIS. so. read ponder or dont.”

As expected, India Arie’s comment and the video have received mixed reactions. One social media user disagreed with the criticism and wrote,

“Some is y’all are so sad and don’t know your history. People of the African Diaspora have been dancing with their hips and pelvis for hundreds of years! It’s ancestral and ceremonial and this cultural tradition survived the transatlantic slave trade. Please read your history before you call our cultural traditions “ghetto” and “ratchet “ and go watch some traditional African dance videos”

Another person mentioned India directly and said,

“@indiaarie but why make this negative. I see beautiful black women having fun. You don’t have to agree with what makes them happy but it doesn’t mean you should push negativity on them just because you don’t agree. Most of the dances they are doing come from our history. Its considered bad because you choose to see it that way. These are women dancing for themselves and not for the attention of him. Let these grown women enjoy there life how they chose”

However, some did agree with the Denver native. An individual with similar sentiments shared,

“@indiaarie thank you @essence and @essencefest really let us down. If we can count on no one else to hold black women in the highest of regards its always been Essence – now they too have taken the bait to hyper sexualize black women. Sad day!”

See more reactions below:

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