UPDATE: The video has been removed from Facebook
We don’t usually report on David Guetta. He’s not really a UKF thing. But his recent activities are so bizarre that they’re hard to ignore.
First he takes a real life horse into a club. Seriously; an actual animal that’s notoriously scared of loud noises and crowded spaces into a club. He was consequently called out by deadmau5 who rightfully brought the cruel act to the attention of music fans who might not usually check David Guetta’s content.
Now YourEDM have pointed out another flaw in Guetta’s current promotional campaign suggesting that the video disrespects Native American culture.
Not just the appropriation of war bonnets (which does seem to be in decline in general with more and more festivals requesting people not to bring or wear them) but practices, too, as crude displays of ancient traditions are used provocatively to promote his weekly night at Pacha.
We’re not playing the classic internet moral outrage card here. That would be insulting in itself; we’re British so there’s no possible way we can understand how Guetta’s actions must appear to Native Americans. But pillaging any culture’s traditions and practices (especially a culture that’s historically had everything taken away anyway) for cosmetic and promotional purposes does seem totally inappropriate in 2015… Or any year this century really.
It’s the comments that really stand out… Streams and streams of music fans are calling out and lambasting Guetta, broken up by occasional seemingly oblivious tune ID requests. Here’s just a small sample of the extreme comments and reactions he’s received so far:
I liked the points you made about cultural appropriation …but how is Guetta’s actions (understand I am not defending him, he is a cunt who does cunt things and makes music for idiots …) regarding this any different fro the young white men and women in the drum n bass scene who talk,walk and dress like black people?..how many times have you been in a rave and heard some white lad chatting like he is a ecconmicaly disadvantaged black youth of Jamaican ancestory? or the white Jungle producers whose entire back catalogues are entirely built on samples from the Reggae music scene (often without crediting the people who made the original recording or paying royalties to the artist)?…personally hearing young white people talking in a mix of black american slang and Jamaican Creole makes me cringe just as much as seeing someone wearing a war bonnet and the horrifying thing is that the whole scene is awash with this….will there be a article on this? because it certainly needs to be addressed and will save me from having to complete a article on it that has been giving me a headache since sunday………
Those headdresses are basically the Native equivalent of a purple heart. It is illegal to impersonate a soldier or fake a purple heart. If we respect it that way on our end, then we must respect it on theirs. That is the part that is racist. Notice that no one says anything about wearing a headband though. Do you know why?
Hahahahaha you’re british and repressing countries and cultures for monetary gain is so last century! There’re museums for that kinda stuff now
I understand that some might find this insulting or disrespectful… Still, this is not racist by any means… Chill out people
It is racist. “Chill out people” is not an adequate response to cultural appropriation — it’s just callous.
I don’t see any horse in that club .. “We’re not playing the classic internet moral outrage card here” blabla
I don’t really like David Guetta and I would never support him in any case, but damn, I hate the way people call out “RACISM” while it’s a simple lack of reflexion on the Native culture.
Do you guys really think he hates Native people and wanted to disrespect them ? Cause THAT would be racist. He just didn’t even think about Native culture imo.
I totally agree with you, I think american people are in general a little butthurt when it comes to racism. Because they cannot deal with racism themselves, the only small little thing is banned. I think for him, it’s just disguised people to make the place funny. It’s just naive.
This is for profit. It’s not naive in any way. It’s calculated. And racist.
Um excuse me. We have been dealing with racism ourselves. How do you think the media finds out about things like this and why it is so bad? We use everything we can to make sure that our fights for respect of our culture is being upheld and that includes letting media sources know about it whether it is local or not. We are not butthurt. You clearly don’t know the statistics when it comes to native issues which means you’re just as ignorant as other douchebags who do this sort of thing. We do not try to get only small little things banned. Headdresses are a big thing in our culture. Read it again. A big thing. So to you it may be a small little thing but to us its a big thing. Sexualization of our women and misrepresenting our traditions is also a big thing. You’re one of the ignorant people here who is also naive instead of just being ignorant.
P.S I’m pretty sure any ethnicity that had to go through racism or discrimination is going to be “butthurt” over it. It allows people of other ethnicities to think they can disrespect them more as seen in this article.
It is not a lack of reflection on native culture. It is willful ignorance and disrespect for Native Peoples. Natives have been addressing for a LONG time and there are literally thousands of resources available and the mainstream media has covered this. There is no feigning ignorance at this point, it is a willful act and therefore an act of racism.
Your definition of racism is far too limited. Colonization is racist. You may feel uncomfortable with that word being used to describe something you don’t see as racist but it really isn’t up to you — it’s up to the sacredness of the items involved, and the history of them being taken, and the decision to use them for profit. There are plenty of resources available to learn about it. We actually do have a responsibility to be a better, more ethical society to marginalized (/colonized) peoples than the one we grew up in.
Amazing that you call flat out racist behavior “lack of reflection.” You might want to reflect on that. Racism is not always malintent. It can be ignorance and an unwillingness to learn from errors.
…which is worse than outright racism. To act w/ no regard for the actual people that your actions mock and ridicule is worse than intending to be racist. If we could wipe out ignorance, racism would die.
Maybe he doesn’t hate native people but he obviously doesn’t respect them. And I’m sorry but the parties are very racist.
How would you like someone to turn your religion into a night club party. Imagine your sacred items and traditions were being used and practiced at drunken parties by hypersexualized women in bikinis who dont know or respect the sacred items they are using.
The point is he’s disrespecting sacred items and traditions of people who survived cultural genocide and are fighting for the preservation of their way of life.
*Sigh* so SJWs are writing for UKF now.
Okay I’m gonna be real, that’s fucking tumblr-talk. Having people dress up as Native Americans isn’t fucking racist. I hate David Guetta too but come on, this isn’t racist. It’s the Zakk Wylde in Indian Headdress scandal all over again. People can dress up as other cultures, that’s not racism, it’s called having some fucking fun.
Actually, it is racist. Period. It’s sacred and not yours to take in the name of fun OR profit. Stop colonizing.
It might be racist, but it’s not bloody colonising. He didn’t invade for christ’s sake.
It is colonising. Among the two other definitions is this third one: appropriate (a place or domain) for one’s own use. So yes. It is colonizing. Their own use? Money clearly.
By that logic, I’m colonizing Japan for using a Sony phone, I’m colonizing Italy for wearing an italian shirt, I’m colonizing half of the world by using materials that came from many different countries to make my laptop. I bet there is not even 0.001% of native american people being offended by this, it’s all social justice warriors who have nothing better to do than be offended for others
@Qmynares: A.) While there *is* a long history of anti-Italian and anti-Japanese sentiment in the WASPy west, and while we *did* bomb and occupy Japan and place Japanese-Americans in internment camps, we never actually *colonized* Italy or Japan. These are more issues of anglo-saxon ethno-centrism and US military imperialism, not colonialism. B.) Phones and shirts are not integral or sacred within Italian or Japanese culture. Indigenous-American-style headdresses, bead-wear, and totem poles *are* integral and sacred. C.) Buying a run-of-the-mill product that someone from another country or culture made in order to sell to you is *not* cultural appropriation. Observing the cultural practices, styles, and norms of another culture, and then mimicking them outside of their proper context *is* culturally appropriative. So, no, your phone and your shirt aren’t culturally appropriative, but if you tried to look or act like a caricature or mock-up of an Italian or Japanese person, it would be. D.) What’s more, when it’s done to a colonized people it also becomes colonialist; when it’s sexualized, it also becomes sexist; when it’s done to benefit white people, it also becomes racist; and when all of this is done for the sake of economic profit and social privilege, then it becomes offensive and selfish beyond belief. E.) You’re an idiot.
Here is the thing, I don’t live in the west, I didn’t bomb anyone, I didn’t put anyone into camps. Just because I’m white and you assume I did all these things, and that makes you a bigger racist than all the people you are attacking. Just because english settlers 4 centuries ago killed native americans, doesn’t mean that me wearing their native clothes is me colonizing them, I live halfway across the fucking world. I’d never seen them, my ancestors had never seen them. But you know what I did see? I saw NATO airplanes flying over my house when I was 4 years old dropping bombs on my country because america didn’t like how we weren’t gonna be their puppets. But that doesn’t make me hate all americans and all white people. I’m not a racist generalizing idiot like you are.
you would get called out for wearing military medals that is what a headress is a sign of accomplishment not a fasion accesory
Who the fuck is David Guetta?
ahaha nice joke haven’t heard that one before
Oh come on people,
First: this is the Pacha marketing thing therefore it is a team work and does not represent the DG´s disrespect to American Natives.
Second: They just used the AN fashion artefacts, the stylization. I mean, are we going to ban any Christians cross or Buddha or Jesus themed T-shirt? Are we going to call the people wearing these T-Shirt or a T-shirt with picture of American Native a rasist or xenophobic? Really?
Third: if your answer is yes, go on then and ban and burn all the books from Karl May and movies with Vinnetou and so on:-)
Come on people, this is just overwhelmed and hypopcrite!
btw. I am not a David Guetta fan. Just be fair, they deffo did not mean to disrespect anybody.
If the picture on a shirt perfectly depicts how natives look then of course it isn’t racist but if it is a depiction of some sort of anti-native propaganda or is in general not how natives dress/ act then it is racist. The person may not be racist the company who did make it is. Lets be honest, this is the day and age where you can get information so easily. That also goes for any other image on a t-shirt or poster or whatever else. In this party they are having clearly they are misrepresenting natives by what they think is their traditions for gaining money. Clearly they didn’t give us enough respect to look it up or even ask someone who knows about this about it. I’m unsure about what you mean overwhelmed and hypocrite. If you mean that its not deserved. Yes. Yes it is.
If you’re american, you’re racist, americans can’t say anything without being offensive.
I never liked Guetta. I do find his music good but his cocky attitude is just a little bit too much. I think karma hit him.
So many social justice warriors here, how about you stop being so offended for other people. I live in a small country in Europe, we probably have 100 times smaller population than native Americans. If some girl in a fucking Pacha commercial wore my peoples traditional headdress and clothes I would be fucking thrilled. I’d say, hey they like it. I’m glad someone else likes something that’s a part of my culture, maybe they’ll learn something about my tiny ass country. Why the fuck should I be offended by that? Regarding native americans, I’m sure half of the world at some point played with feathers,made totems and danced like them when they were kids,and now it’s offensive to some people who aren’t even native american? What the fuck is wrong with you all? When did enjoying other cultures become as bad as killing and invading them?
where’s da fucking video