*“Real Housewives of Atlanta” co-star Drew Sidora has fired back at Kenya Moore’s accusation of “cultural appropriation” for dressing “as an Indian for Halloween” in the past.
Sidora addressed the issue with Page Six, sharing personal photos with the outlet that show her family honoring their Native American heritage.
“In this climate of addressing diversity, I am happy to put a spotlight on my indigenous background from my maternal side of the family,” Sidora told the outlet.“According to my mother, I am part of the Choctaw Native American Tribe, and my great-grandparents grew up and lived in Coushatta, Louisiana, all their lives.”
She continued, “In fact, in 2011, my family returned to our family roots of Coushatta, Louisiana, for a family reunion and celebration in which the theme was ‘Our Branches Stretch Wide, But Our Roots Go Deep.’ During this time, I inherited an authentic ‘tribal garment’ and wore it to our family celebration.”
In March, Moore issued an apology for wearing a feathered headdress as a costume during a Halloween-themed episode. Native American activists slammed the attire as a “racist” example of “playing Indian.”
“I want to sincerely apologize for inappropriately wearing the Native American headdress as a costume,” Moore said in a statement to Page Six. “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.”
READ MORE: Kenya Moore Responds to Backlash for ‘Playing Indian’ in ‘Racist’ Costume [VIDEO]
Does this look like a “family celebration”? Drew is weird and obvious pathological liar. She dressed as an Indian for Halloween. I unfortunately dressed as a Native American for which I apologized. Cultural appropriation is wrong period #receipts #RHOA pic.twitter.com/h3NYQEM3nJ
— KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) April 26, 2021
During the “RHOA” reunion on Sunday, Andy Cohen questioned Moore about the offensive Native American costume.
“It was such a bad mistake on my part because if I have this heritage, I should have known better,” Moore said before calling out Sidora.
“In Drew’s case, she dressed as an Indian woman for Halloween also, so it would be nice instead of pointing a finger to say, ‘Yes, we all have made these mistakes and let’s all try to do better because now we know better,’” she added.
Sidora noted that she wore Native American attire at her “mother’s family reunion.”
“It wasn’t a Halloween costume,” she clarified. “You’re talking about over 10 years ago at a family reunion. We did a ceremony for our ancestors in Louisiana, where we all wore Native American [clothes], and those weren’t costumes from Party City. It was actually made by my mother’s great-grandmother.”
Moore replied, “Stop lying. It was hashtag Halloween.” She later tweeted a photo of Drew dressed up like a Native American. “Does this look like a ‘family celebration’? Drew is weird and obvious pathological liar. She dressed as an Indian for Halloween. I unfortunately dressed as a Native American for which I apologized. Cultural appropriation is wrong period #receipts #RHOA.”
Sidora told Page Six she wore the garments to “showcase my proud heritage; not as a costume bought at Party City.”
“Ten years ago, I wore my tribal garment to a party with my sister as a proud member of an indigenous people,” she added. “It was never my intent to be insensitive to my ancestral roots, but merely my way of displaying and honoring a culture that runs deep within my DNA.”
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