Winnie Harlow has been slammed online for her Whitney Houston Halloween costume.
The 31-year-old Canadian fashion model is no stranger when it comes to paying homage to the late ‘I Will Always Love You’ hitmaker.
The iconic legend and Grammy winner tragically died at the age of 48 in 2012 after she was found unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton.
In the days before her death, fans grew increasingly worried by Houston’s apparent ‘erratic’ behavior.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office ruled her death was an accident, caused by drowning alongside heart disease complications and cocaine use.
Winnie Harlow paid homage to the superstar this Halloween (winnieharlow/Instagram)
Harlow, who is clearly a huge fan of the late artist, has made several tributes to Houston for Halloween this year, including a remake of the star’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ music video.
Dropping the iconic video on Instagram, she penned in the caption: “The woman who made us all Wanna Dance with Somebody. The icon, the Voice. Whitney Houston,” before thanking her creative team, designers and assistants for bringing the vision to life.
However, while dozens of fans have celebrated the clip and praised Harlow for her likeness to the star, a second remake has apparently struck a chord with some viewers.
In the footage, Harlow takes on Houston’s 2001 BET Awards look and can be seen lip-syncing to some of her speech as she accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The moment hit home for fans at the time who had become increasingly concerned about the pop star’s health, commenting on her ‘erratic’ demeanour and appearance.
Now, fans have slammed Harlow for recreating the moment, claiming it was a ‘low point’ for the late star to shine a spotlight on.
“Something about this seems very disrespectful to me. I don’t like this,” said one on X, formerly Twitter.
A second chimed: “Her ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ look was cute and tasteful…she should’ve kept it there.”
Whitney Houston at the BET Awards show in 2001 (M. Caulfield/WireImage)
Others said while Harlow’s movements and gestures appear ‘spot on’ to how Houston appeared on stage, fans say it comes across as ‘disrespectful mockery’ rather than a tribute.
“Of all the several iconic Whitney moments, this is the one she chose?”
Another agreed: “She’s mocking her not at her best moment. Not only is it disrespectful it’s tasteless.”
“Why did Winnie choose to recreate one of Whitney’s darkest moments? It’s bad taste and feels like a mockery,” echoed another disgruntled fan.
However, many more jumped to the defence of Harlow, stating it’s just a ‘Halloween costume’ and a bit of fun.
“Genuinely, what’s the issue with this?” said another.
The model is clearly a huge fan of Whitney (PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
“She seems quite energetic and nice, to be honest,” a second weighed in about Harlow.
Meanwhile, a third joked they only have a problem with it because ‘she looks exactly like Whitney Houston.’
Harlow captioned her Halloween post: “Youuu betta Lay Low!,” in reference to the singer’s speech.
“One of my favorite iconic Whitney moments,” she added with crying and laughing face emojis.
UNILAD has contacted Harlow’s reps for comment.
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