Amanda Garcia of The Challenge received plenty of fan backlash due to a recent Instagram post featuring her and her son in costume.
Many commenters are criticizing the choice of costume for being inappropriate and insensitive in 2020.
It features Amanda with her baby son, dressed in costumes that many commenters feel are disrespectful towards Native American culture.
Amanda shares ‘Happy Halloween’ post on Instagram
Amanda posted on her Instagram on October 31, showing herself dressed up in a skimpy costume featuring knee-high boots, face paint, and a headband.
She was also holding her baby son, wearing face paint and a costume, including a headdress.
“Happy Halloween!” Amanda captioned it with several hashtags, including “#chiefandhisindian,” “#firsthalloween,” and “#ourheritage.”
Amanda’s son, Avonni Anthony Reinhardt, was born this past February.
The Halloween post received over 6,000 Likes and many comments, some of which supported Amanda’s post. That included fellow Challenge competitor Kayleigh who commented with fire emojis.
Former Challenge star Da’Vonne Rogers, who recently competed on Big Brother 22 and won America’s Favorite Houseguest, also commented.
“Look at him !!!!!!! OMG !!!! ??? He’s such a big boy now !!!! I miss you so much sister !!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️” Da’Vonne said.
Fans react to ‘inappropriate’ post
Da’Vonne’s comment received attention as fans asked her what she thought of Amanda’s outfit choice for Halloween.
Many separate comments also addressed that aspect of the Halloween post.
“Imagine doing this in 2020. How embarrassing. I sincerely hope you educate yourself on why this is wrong on all levels,” one commenter wrote on Amanda’s post.
“I’ll admit I don’t know much about you and your heritage, but isn’t this costume kind of offensive?” another commenter said.
“Amanda we love you but pls ? native American people have advocated against the use of their culture as a costume for years and years,” yet another said.
“A headdress is sacred and representative of status and honor. It’s incredibly offensive to use it as a costume. And, this isn’t hating on her. It’s a flat out fact that headdresses should never be used as a costume,” another comment mentioned.
Many other commenters echoed those sentiments, calling out Amanda for sexualizing indigenous people or for cultural appropriation. As of this writing, she hadn’t responded to any of the comments.
Amanda Garcia previously appeared on Are You the One? 3 before beginning her career on MTV’s The Challenge on Rivals III. She’d go on to compete on Invasion of the Champions, XXX: Dirty 30, Final Reckoning, and War of the Worlds.
Amanda was not part of the previous two seasons of The Challenge, War of the Worlds 2, or Total Madness, and she’s now busy raising her son.
Some commenters feel her recent image share on Halloween may be a learning moment.
Challenge fans what are your thoughts about Amanda’s Halloween post?
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