These People (Kinda) Called Out Alyssa Milano For Cultural Appropriation Before We Did

Alyssa Milano was really excited to show off her new cornrows in a picture that she posted on Instagram. But not everyone was a fan of her new ‘do. And apparently neither were some of the people in the picture with her. In a classic but brilliant case of online pettiness, users of both Instagram and Twitter literally zoomed in on the facial expressions of three Black people behind Milano in what appears to be a shoe store, or perhaps the shoe section of a department store. These onlookers appeared to be staring at Milano with faces of amused pity, disgust, and annoyance while she poses for the snap. They seem to have captured our reaction to yet another case of cultural appropriation before we were able to type a single comment. And the internet is running with it.

It’s quite possible that we’ve collectively moved past strong verbal arguments against cultural appropriation. After Miley Cyrus dishonored the art of twerking, Taylor Swift went through that phase when she wanted us to know that she has Black friends, and the Kardashians pretty much ran out of Black girl stuff to recreate, we’re tired. Sometimes all we can do is serve our best side-eye or share a grimace with each other so that we know we’re not alone. Thankfully, these photobombers turned meme legends have already taken care of that for us as well. We've reached out to Milano’s reps for comments, and will update this story should they have a response.