After being accused of cultural appropriation, Michael B. Jordan has decided to change the name of his newly launched rum line J'Ouvert and has issued and apology after facing strong criticism from members of the Caribbean community, including Nicki Minaj.
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Traditionally, J'Ouvert is a festival that celebrates Caribbean culture. In addition to being held annually in Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada during Carnival, it's also celebrated worldwide.
Nicki, who is Trinidadian, took to Instagram to address her concern, re-posting the historical significance why J'Ouvert is observed and called on Michael to consider changing the brand's moniker, while acknowledging he “didn’t intentionally do anything he thought Caribbean ppl would find offensive.”
At the start of the week, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon, told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday that the intellectual-property implications of Jordan's trademark filing were an issue "of extreme concern" and that her department would investigate.
Critics of the actor had been particularly angered by a line in the filing that claimed the word J'Ouvert had "no meaning in a foreign language.” Which led to the creation of an online petition to stop the trademark, which reached 10,000 signatures prior to the actor issuing out an apology.
A few hours after Nicki's post, Jordan addressed the issue on his IG story with the following statement:
"I just wanna say on behalf of myself & my partners, our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture(we love & respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on," he wrote in an Instagram post. "Last few days has been a lot of listening. A lot of learning & engaging in countless community conversations…"
He continued: "We hear you. I hear you & want to be clear that we are in the process of renaming. We sincerely apologize & look forward to introducing a brand we can all be proud of.”
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