Ashley Graham asked Jason Momoa to do a "haka move" on the red carpet ahead of the Oscars. Photo / Supplied
Ashley Graham asked Jason Momoa to do a "haka move" on the red carpet ahead of the Oscars. Photo / Supplied
Supermodel Ashley Graham was stationed on the Oscars red carpet, interviewing celebrities as they arrived at the event for US TV network ABC.
One such interaction caused a stir when she asked Hawaiian-born action man Jason Momoa to perform the Māori ceremonial dance haka on cue.
"I gotta get ahaka move. I gotta get, like, one haka move," she asked the Aquaman star, attempting to demonstrate by hopping awkwardly from one foot to the other.
Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet on the Oscars red carpet. Photo / AP
Momoa's partner Lisa Bonet immediately moved to shut down the request.
Ever the good sport, Momoa instead stuck his tongue out and gave Graham a quick pūkana, the facial gesture performed in a haka, which seemed to satisfy her as she waved the couple off. Viewers, however, were less pleased with the interaction, some labelling Graham "ignorant" for the request:
Jason Momoa is Hawaiian. The Haka is a Mãori ceremonial dance. Whoever this woman is that was interviewing people on the red carpet shouldn't & Lisa's response was just right.pic.twitter.com/u1B0rv33OU
I think every Native person has had some version of this interaction: some one asking us to perform being indigenous, rather than being allowed to just be indigenous. #NativeTwitter
It was one of several controversial moments at the Oscars — most notably Lady Gaga and A Star Is Born co-star Bradley Cooper's performance of hit song Shallow, a duet so intimate it had scores of fans asking whether the duo's on-screen romance has spilt over into real life.
