Ever heard of cotton core decor? No? Us either. Viewers are concerned with this Airbnb’s racist decor.
According to a video posted by Erica W. (@tasteofmelanin), some people have very questionable decor tastes. In the video, Erica shows decorations in an Airbnb that include cotton wreaths, cotton bouquets, cotton branches on a wall with monkey plushies and monkey plushies dangling down on a white flower tree.
The text overlay reads, “Southern Airbnb Core” and has a countrified version of Beyonce’s, “Put a Ring On It.” To viewers, the imagery of cotton combined with the monkeys is reminiscent of the lynchings of African American people in the American South.
The video has about 5,000 comments and 2.2 million views as of Saturday.
@tasteofmelanin I-
♬ original sound – There I Ruined It
The racist context in the decor
While cotton decorations are a thing, it is a bit cringy given their context as an essential crop that fueled the slavery economy in the United States. According to the United States of Interiors Division, the National Park Services, “By 1850, 1.8 million of the nation’s 3.2 million enslaved people were growing and picking cotton. By 1860, enslaved labor produced over 2 billion pounds of cotton each year.” Therefore, cotton was significant to the country’s slave economy and the need for more textile required the need for more enslaved African Americans. Additionally, racist rhetoric can sometimes refer to Black people as monkeys to insinuate primitiveness.
Lastly, the context of lynching African Americans from trees in the South makes these decorations especially violent. While some may argue it’s just decor that admires cotton trees and has monkeys hanging from a tree in a playful manner, given this historical context and that the Airbnb is in the South, it does not sit well with many, and rightfully so viewers are appalled.
Viewers are shocked
“Report to Airbnb IMMEDIATELY,” one comment read.
“THE MONKEYS?!” another user wrote.
“Not the GET OUT sequel set up,” one wrote.
Erica comments on the video, saying, “Update: Airbnb reached out and removed the listing.” It seems that Erica reached out with their concerns about the decor and Airbnb listened. Comments on this video have been disabled.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Erica for comment via TikTok message and reached out to Airbnb via email.
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