Adele accused of cultural appropriation after Grammys win

British Singer Adele has been accused of cultural appropriation. The Songster who walked away from the Grammys on Sunday night with five awards including: Album of the Year for 25, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance for Hello and Best Pop Vocal Album was heavily criticized on the website ebonystarmagazine.com for exploiting and appropriating black culture for fame and monetary success. In a heavily critical article titled Whites who exploit black music by Ebony Johnson, the editor of the online magazine, Ms. Johnson said of Adele:

"Here it is we have a white woman - Adele getting famous and wealthy off the backs of blacks who toiled hard in the industry and invented the genre of music which she exploits for her own fame and fortune, yet black artists are not given the appropriate recognition that they fully deserve but white women like Adele with mediocre talent can just come along and people praise her as the next best thing. White privilege at its finest. Can anyone tell me what was wrong with Beyoncé’s album? Maybe it wasn't whitewashed? It's quite apparent that in the music industry now, just like in the acting industry, the only thing that requires one to be a success is white skin. Did anyone hear her pathetic acceptance speech? A white, stuck up, British woman like her has black friends? Who are they? This is why we blacks have our own award shows like the BET Awards. It is quite obvious that blacks will never be given the recognition that they fully deserve. But we must never be deterred we must stay strong."

One responder to the article going by the name Open Mind, writing in the comments section of the website, had this response to Ms. Johnson:

"Well said Ms. Johnson. Thank you for showing us your true colors. Pardon the pun. So a woman who just happens to be white wins numerous awards on music's biggest night and instead of congratulating her all you can do is whine about race and this nonsense about cultural appropriation? And why is she a "mediocre talent" and a beneficiary of "White privilege"? So her being white means the she gets everything easy and doesn't have to work hard? Do the many blacks who listen to and enjoy her music have "mediocre taste"? And during her acceptance speech what was she supposed to do? Thumb her nose at Beyoncé and say that she is better than her? By the way, hasn't Beyonce and other black artists won numerous Grammys in the past? What would it take for you to stop making everything a racial issue? Would Denzil Washington winning the Best Actor Oscar next month appease you? Or Octavia Spencer winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress? But I guess if that happens you'd probably accuse the Academy of pandering to blacks in a futile attempt to win their favor right?”