White Instagram Influencers Pretending to Be Black: ‘It's My Own Style’

At first glance, Emma Hallberg’s Instagram page looks like that of any other young, pretty social-media influencer of a certain age. Most of her photos are selfies, and nearly all of them see Hallberg pouting provocatively at the camera. In one photo, Hallberg poses in a neon green bodycon dress—her curvy figure, tan skin, and long, straight dark hair clearly the focus. “Neon colors always makes [sic] you look summer tanned,” the caption reads. In another photo, Hallberg crouches in front of a mirror, decked out in in a tube top, jeans, and thigh-high boots from Cardi B-endorsed clothing line Fashion Nova. Her caption, fittingly, seems to have been ripped straight from the Bronx rapper’s own Instagram page: “I could buy designer but this @fashionnova fit !”

There’s just one catch: Hallberg, despite Instagram evidence to the contrary, is white.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Hallberg could be black, or mixed-race, or at the very least a woman of color. Her skin tone and hair seem to suggest a nonwhite background, and her penchant for long nails, hoop earrings, and curve-friendly clothes from the likes of Fashion Nova only further the assumption. In one photo, she also credits a wig/hair extension company, Ali Grace Hair, for her luscious locks—a brand predominately marketed to black women. And even though Hallberg’s bio clearly states “SWEDE | SWEDEN,” she doesn’t appear to be constrained by Scandinavian beauty standards at all. Her 200,000-plus Instagram followers seem to be largely unbothered by the fact that Hallberg presents herself as nonwhite.

See her IG Here

Thoughts? @MarcusSullivanLive