Adele hurt by bikini pic backlash

The singer’s confidence is knocked by recent criticism

Adele

by Katie Holloway |
Updated on

It’s hardly surprising that any picture Adele uploads to Instagram sends the internet into a frenzy. The singer – who is relatively quiet on social media – has been blowing us away with snaps of her dramatic body transformation over the last few months.

Last week, however, she caused the wrong kind of stir when she posted a picture of herself wearing a Jamaican flag-print bikini and her hair in Bantu knots to celebrate Notting Hill Carnival, which like most big events had been cancelled because of the pandemic. She captioned the snap, “Happy what would be Notting Hill Carnival my beloved London.”

Not long after she posted the photo, the 32 year old was accused of cultural appropriation, specifically with regard to her hair, as the style is traditionally African.

An insider close to the mum of one tells us she was devastated by the comments. “Seeing such a strong reaction to her pictures was really distressing for her,” we’re told. “She never meant to upset anyone and felt that a lot of people in the US didn’t understand what she was doing and what the Notting Hill Carnival represents. She’s had to ban herself from looking through the comments, as there were so many negative ones on there that really hurt.”

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Many of the pop star’s celebrity friends came to her defence, including Naomi Campbell – who commented a heart alongside emojis of the Jamaican flag – and Alexandra Burke, who said, “As a Jamaican girl myself, my girl has grown up in black culture. People forget she’s from Tottenham… Let her live her best life, leave her alone. We love Adele.”

Our source adds that Adele was also upset by criticism of her looks, and that she is so proud of the hard work she has put into her body – she’s thought to have lost 7st in total. “Adele’s proud of her new physique and wants to show it off now that she’s single and looking to date again. She obviously doesn’t want to become known as someone who is just posting sexy selfies all the time. However, she’s been desperate to show herself off to give her confidence a boost.”

Adele split from her husband Simon Konecki – with whom she shares seven-year-old son Angelo – in 2019 and has since been linked to Drake and Skepta, and we’re told she won’t let a few nasty trolls hold her back.

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“She wants to wait for the dust to settle before she posts any more pics,” our insider says. “But she’s keen to go somewhere where she can wear a bikini. She’s worked so hard to look this good and she isn’t afraid to show it off.”

Read more in the latest issue of heat magazine - OUT NOW.

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