Larsa Pippen Defends Wearing Box Braids on 'Real Housewives of Miami': 'I'm Not White'-quang

   

"My mom had braids when she was a kid. I've been braiding my hair every time I've gone on vacation since I can remember," said the reality star

Larsa Pippen is doubling down on her box braids hairstyle after being asked if it was "culturally appropriate."

The Real Housewives of Miami star, 48, rocked the braids during a cast trip to the Bahamas.

She was asked about the look during part three of the cast reunion that premiered on Peacock Thursday.

Host Andy Cohen read a question from a fan: "Watching the tease for the season, I noticed you were sporting braids in the Bahamas. Fashion-wise, you can pull it off. But do you think it's really culturally appropriate? I think you're going to get a lot of backlash."

Pippen disagreed and said she didn't think she'd face criticism.

"I mean, I'm not White," she said. "So I don't know — my mom used to wear braids."

She added that she has a braider come regularly to her home to braid her children's hair.

Pippen told him, "I have a braider who comes and braids my kids' hair every 10 days...My son's had braids literally for the last four years."

She added, "I'm going on a trip, I don't want to have to deal with my hair, I'll have her braid my hair."

Pippen shares her four kids with ex-husband Scottie Pippen, who is Black. She additionally explained her ethnicity, as well as detailed her history of wearing braids.

"My grandparents are Moroccan. My mom had braids when she was a kid. I've been braiding my hair every time I've gone on vacation since I can remember. My honeymoon pictures, my hair was braided. When I was 18 years old, my hair was braided. I've always worn braids when I travel."

After being asked by Cohen for her thoughts, friend of the show Kiki Barth said, "I feel like anybody should rock whatever they want to. As long as it looks good on you, I think we should just embrace it."

Also during the reunion, Pippen opened up about her relationship with 32-year-old Marcus Jordan, the son of retired NBA legend Michael Jordan, who played alongside her ex-husband on the Chicago Bulls in the '80s and '90s.

She addressed if she would hyphenate her name if she and Marcus got married: "I would definitely change my last name for whomever I married, that's for sure."

Pippen played coy when asked if she has hung out with Marcus's father.

"I mean, I don't really want to talk about — I want to talk about Marcus and I," said Pippen, who married Scottie in 1997 and split from him in 2021. "I feel like I'm comfortable talking about Marcus and I."

When asked by host Cohen about the "unusual" dynamic caused by dating Marcus, she explained, "I feel like a lot of people don't understand....I just met him a few years ago. I never met him before."

"I was with Scottie the very last year that he played with Michael," she shared. "Michael and his wife were going through a divorce, so I never met his wife, never met his kids. It wasn't like we had families that were intertwined. I never knew them."