The Kardashian-Jenner clan is being accused of cultural appropriation yet again. At this point, the famous family is all too familiar with the controversy that surrounds their use of cultural norms that they as Armenian-Americans are not privy to. Remember when Kim Kardashian had to change the name of her shape-wear line from Kimono to Skims after intense backlash from Japanese-Americans? Or when Khloe was ridiculed for wearing cornrows, hoop earrings, and African-American nail styles? Well, when model Kendall Jenner announced yesterday that she was venturing into the business of hand-crafted tequila the internet clapped back.
The 25-year-old reported that she has been working on this project for four years and she is not the first celebrity to try their hand in this market. Puff Daddy owns shares in Ciroc vodka, Canadian Ryan Reynolds owns the gin brand Aviation, rapper Jay-Z owns Ace of Spades champagne, and most recently Cara Delevingne and her sisters Poppy and Chloe developed Della Vite, their own prosecco line. Jenners new 818 Tequila has already been entered into competitions and won multiple awards according to her posts via Instagram The alcohol isn’t the problem. Some are saying that the entire project reeks of appropriation as tequila is infamously a Mexican drink and Jenner neither lives in Mexico, has Mexican heritage, nor is her family involved in the production of agave.
Is 818 a “real tequila” even though Jenner is a California girl? The short answer is yes! Tequila, like other types of alcohol that are specific to a region, requires strict adherence to rules and regulations in order for them to fit their categorization. 818 is made from 100% blue agave distilled in Jalisco, Mexico; even though the name 818 is coined after the LA area code where Jenner grew up the actual production of the drink follows Mexico’s strict laws. The tequila is probably delicious but it will be interesting to see where the controversy leaves Jenner as 818 hits shelves.