Cardi B apologizes after upsetting Hindu fans

Rap sensation Cardi B issued an apology for sporting a Hindu Goddess look on the cover of a footwear magazine, which lead to social media outrage. Certain section of netizens accused Cardi B of "culture appropriation" and of "disrespecting religion."

The 28-year-old rapper sparked backlash after appearing on the November cover of Footwear News to promote her upcoming collaboration with Reebok holding a sneaker and seemingly imitating the Hindu goddess Durga (who is traditionally depicted with eight to 10 arms).

In the picture, the singer could be seen holding a pair of sneakers while multiple arms outstretched from her body, replicating the goddess' pose.

The post, which has now been taken down from Instagram, described the concept of Cardi B posing as Goddess Durga as: "...she pays homage to Durga, the Hindu goddess, whose symbols of protection and inner strength resonate as much in modern times as they have through the centuries. Like Durga, Cardi B is a dominant female voice at a critical time."

On Wednesday morning, Cardi apologized for any offense she may have caused on her Instagram Story, admitting that she should have researched the concept before the cover shoot.

In the videos Cardi B shared in separate Instagram stories, the singer added: "When I did the shoot, the creator told me you are going to represent strength, femininity, liberation and that's something I love and I'm all about it. And I thought it was dope. If people think I'm offending their culture or their religion, I want to say it was not my intent. I do not like offending anyone's religion. I wouldn't like it if someone did it to my religion."

She concluded, "I wasn't trying to be disrespectful; maybe I should have done my research. I'm sorry, I can't change the past, but I will do more research for the future."

Cardi B is best known for her popular tracks such as Bartier Cardi, Bronx Season, Get Up 10, I Do, I Like It, among others.