Ms. Hyde: Natalie, Part 2

This photo...

Jesus, where to start. This is a photo from a photoshoot done for a 2008 television show by MTV, which luckily for us, never saw the light of day. The story goes that she was to spend time with an African tribe in Namibia and this photo represents her "initiation" into the tribe. It caused quite a stir, resulting in the Daily Mail releasing an article with Natalie "apologizing" for offending anyone. She went on to claim that the body paint is Otjize, a pigment. I admit I don't know a lot about the culture but even I know it's bullshit. I recall it being orange, not dark brown. So let's look into it, shall we?

Otijze, the red beauty paste used by the Himba women, is responsible for their skin’s distinct red colour, which has earned them the name “Red People of Africa.” Made from a mixture of butter and ochre, Ojitze lends the deep reddish tinge to their skins and is regarded as the ideal beauty standard for the Himba people. Ochre, the main ingredient in this reddish tinge, is a natural red clay pigment made from a mixture of ferric oxide, clay and sand. Otjize holds tremendous significance for the Himba people, symbolising the earth’s rich red colour, blood and the essence of life. https://guardian.ng/life/otjize-the-red-beauty-miracle-of-the-himba-people/

So lie number one. What she claims to be wearing is NOT Otijze. The picture below shows how Otijze would look on a white person, even though it's women who wear it, not men. Now let's look at the water bottle Natalie is holding. It's clear she's doing some sort of advertisement for bottled water. Not an initiation. And the hair is included in the application of Otijze. Why isn't her hair styled in accordance to the Himba tradition. A Himba woman's hair represents power.

The Himba have been known to be wary of external contact and work hard to ensure that their culture is not contaminated in any form by outsiders. I highly doubt they are welcoming to bottled water.

So of course when this picture was uncovered, people got upset. Then comes the "apology" article in the Daily Mail. FORCED. Even the article title admits it.

"Firstly, I'd like to say I'm sorry if this image surfacing has caused any offense. It is a photo for a 2008 TV show in Nambia." - Natalie

IF...IF I CAUSED OFFENSE. Sounds like a half-assed apology in my opinion. In my eyes, this photo is a tacky and tasteless attempt to sell a show and a product. But I believe Natalie would do anything to be famous, so the hell with morals or ethics.

And she was an adult...her age is no excuse not to know better.

The Daily Mail (FAIL) is obviously on Henry's PR payroll. Because, let's be honest, almost no one else is covering this PR disaster. But you would think they would do at least a little research for their articles:

The things people do for fame.

UPDATE: Since I first posted this I did a little more research and came across a 2019 show The British Tribe Next Door, which followed a British reality star and her family's time with a Himba tribe. This show received a ton of backlash, which is probably why the show Natalie was supposedly filming never aired. In the second episode it depicts the women of the tribe demonstrating their daily beauty routine with Scarlett. Of course this included applying the Ojitze. It's a reddish tint. Later in the episode it shows them taking part in dancing and while at night the Ojitze appears a more brownish tone, you can see it's unevenly applied and no where near as dark as what's on Natalie. What Natalie is wearing is body paint. It is NOT Ojitze.