Cardi B is apologizing to the Hindu community after she was "dragged" for cultural appropriation.
She was photographed for the November cover of Footwear News in a red Georges Hobeika outfit, while holding a red sneaker from her Reebok collaboration. Eight more arms appeared behind her, an image based on the Hindu goddess Durga, which prompted fans to call her out for appropriating the religion.
Cardi B posted on her Instagram Story on Tuesday night to clarify her intentions. She said, "When I did the Reebok shoot, the creatives were telling me, 'You gonna represent a goddess, that she represents strength, femininity and liberation.' And that's something that I love and I'm all about."
The "WAP" singer went on, "And I thought that it was dope, but if people think I'm offending their culture or their religion I want to say I'm sorry. That was not my intent. I do not like disrespecting nobody's religion. I wouldn't like people to offend my religion."
Cardi admitted she should have done more research on the concept, adding, "I wasn't trying to be disrespectful... I can't change the past, but I'm going to do more research for the future."
Footwear News also issued an apology statement on Instagram on Wednesday, Nov. 11, writing, "Yesterday we posted content from our exclusive Cardi B cover shoot. One of the images was intended to pay homage to Hindu goddess Durga, and our intent was to show a powerful woman."
The statement continued, "However, we realize we were not considerate of certain cultural and religious perspectives and how this could be perceived as deeply offensive... We take full accountability for this oversight and we apologize."
Twitter users criticized Cardi for the "disrespectful" aesthetic. One wrote, "My culture is not how you MARKET your PRODUCT." Another said it "mocked" their culture.
The publication instead released a new cover of the rapper in all black. In the issue, Cardi, 28, talked about her thirst for success. "I'm such an ambitious person. I feel like I lost so much. Now that I'm winning, it's a very addicting feeling," explained the mom of 2-year-old daughter Kulture.
Her magazine moment came about a week after she officially called off her divorce from husband Offset. See a timeline of their rocky romance here.