CARISA LEE
“Black Panther” actor Michael B Jordan has apologized to Trinbagonians—and by extension Caribbean nationals—for naming his rum J'Ouvert and is in the process of renaming it.
The announcement was made on his Instagram story this morning. The actor wrote:
"I just wanna say on behalf of myself & my partners, Our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love and respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on. Last few days has been a lot of listening. A lot of learning and engaging in countless community conversations. We hear you. I hear you & want to be clear that we are in the process of renaming. We sincerely apologise & look forward to introducing a brand we can all be proud of."
Jordan launched J’Ouvert Rum over the weekend and has applied to trademark the name. But since the news of Jordan’s new endeavour became public, several local and regional nationals have referred to it as cultural appropriation.
Many expressed their happiness with Jordan's announcement on social media.
One person tweeted: "This is a win for all those who spoke up and a major win to Trinbagonian people."
And another wrote: "The fact that MBJ is going back to the drawing board to rename is fantastic."
On Tuesday, Trinbagonian rapper Nicki Minaj joined the conversation and asked the “Creed” actor to change the name.