Michael B. Jordan faces claims of cultural appropriation over a new rum. Caribbean fans including Nicki Minaj weigh in.

• Posts from friends suggest Michael B. Jordan unveiled a new rum called "J'ouvert" over the weekend.
• Caribbean fans say the name appropriates a Trinidadian tradition that takes place at carnival.
• On Instagram, rapper Nicki Minaj said she trusted Jordan's intentions but called for a name change.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Black Panther actor Michael B. Jordan is facing backlash from Caribbean fans who are accusing the actor of cultural appropriation following the release of a new spirits venture launched called "J'ouvert Rum."

Over the weekend, fellow actor Bryan Greenberg and girlfriend Lori Harvey both posted images of a rum box set to their Instagram stories congratulating the "People's Sexiest Man Alive" on the product."Congrats @swillyb13 and @michaelbjordan on @jouvertrum," wrote Greenberg.

-Synpai (@syn_pai) June 21, 2021

The announcement first caused a stir throughout the Caribbean, where residents took offense to Jordan's use of the new name, while some questioned whether the new promotion is an example of cultural appropriation.

Posts shared to Instagram show Jordan, who is African American, posing in front of the J'ouvert brand logo along with a small bottle of J'ouvert rum, and an old-fashioned rum recipe.

The box set promoted on Harvey's Instagram stories showed Angostura bitters included in the package as well.

An official press release or statement from Jordan about the brand and its partners has not been released since the images and video of the launch were posted over the weekend.

But a commenter on Twitter suggested Jordan's partner in this venture is Trinidad-born entrepreneur, Scott Robert Williams, cofounder of Manhattan Caribbean-inspired bar Las Lap. Williams did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

J'ouvert has origins in a Trinidadian pre-dawn ritual

J'ouvert – pronounced "joo-vay" – comes from the French "jour ouvert," meaning "dawn," "daybreak" or "opening of day." But the word has a more ancestral and spiritual significance to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean at large.

Throughout the year, islands host vibrant parades, from Trinidad's pre-Lenten carnival in February to Barbados' August, "Crop Over" festival commemorating emancipation and the end of cropping season.

"What pisses me off is Michael B. Jordan never played J'Ouvert no where a day in [his] whole life and possibly never set foot in Trinidad and Tobago yet using [Caribbean] carnival culture for profit," one commenter tweeted.

Before it spread throughout the region, J'ouvert from descended from Canboulay, a predawn ritual from the 1880s that commemorated the end of the sugarcane harvest in Trinidad.

After authorities attempted to stop the procession, Trinidadians rioted and won their rights to continue, mocking those who sought to stop them.

While sharing to her 142-million Instagram followers that she's "sure [the actor] didn't intentionally do anything he thought Caribbean [people] would find offensive," Trinidad-born rapper Nicki Minaj called on Jordan to consider a change.

A post shared by Barbie (@nickiminaj)

"Now that you are aware, change the name and continue to flourish and prosper," she captioned under a post from a commenter detailing J'ouvert's history.

With large diasporas additionally throughout the US, UK, and Canada, the tradition of carnival and J'ouvert has traveled to regional festivals including Nottinghill, Toronto, Miami, and New York City. Non-Caribbean tourists have taken part in carnivals in the region for years.

Caribbean-based brands can generate revenue boosts and free promotion from foreign celebrities spotted at seasonal fetes or captured in costume.

But by Sunday, critics questioned whether Jordan's appreciation for Caribbean culture crossed the line into appropriation. They further pinpointed the brand partnership as an example of Black Americans without ties to the region or its diaspora profiting from sacred, Caribbean cultural traditions without learning their significance or history.

"This smacks of the contempt that some African Americans have for Caribbean people and our place in the history of Pan Africanism and resistance to all the western capitalist bullshit we've been fighting for centuries," Attillah Springer, a writer, and jouvayist said on Twitter.

-Tillahwillah (@tillahwillah) June 20, 2021

While Jordan's relationship with the brand is unknown, Angostura is still owned and operated in Trinidad and Tobago, where it was founded. Insider reached out to Angostura's executive manager of marketing Hema Ramkissoon who declined to comment on their relationship with J'ouvert Rum and Jordan's current controversy.

Soon after the posts appeared, however, rumors began circulating online that Jordan had filed an application to formally trademark the name. Trinidadians were also concerned about how this will affect their culture.

A campaign is underway to stop J'ouvert from being trademarked

A US trademark search shows an active application published in April 2021 for use of the word "J'ouvert" under goods and services for "alcoholic beverages, except beer; Distilled spirits; Rum-based beverages; Rum."

Jordan's name is not attached to this trademark listing.

The listing also states "The wording 'J'OUVERT" has no meaning in a foreign language,"which only further upset Caribbean social media users.

A Change.org petition calling for the filing to be dismissed because of the description of the word J'ouvert and for "USPTO [to] pause their final decision on the trademark of the word J'Ouvert by foreign entities for the use of the sale of rum," currently has more than 8,000 signatures.

Caribbean-Americans in the US weighed in on the controversy as well. Alton Aimable, St. Lucian-born president and founder of the Brooklyn-based cultural organization Tropicalfete told Insider he doesn't "think it's cultural appropriation."

""Someone using the word J'ouvert? I don't see an issue or problem with that especially the fact that he's trademarking it for a rum, he said. "If the trademark had to do with trademarking it for my particular [carnival] parade, then I will see that as an issue."

Aimable added that in a capitalist society, Jordan has the right to move forward with his business if he trademarked the name. The community leader also said Caribbean people need to "take stock" of what names need to be trademarked solely for the use of the community.

Jordan isn't the first celebrity to be accused of cultural appropriation this year for an alcoholic brand.

Model Kendall Jenner faced criticism in February after releasing her own tequila brand.

The reality TV star was accused of cultural appropriation as a non-Mexican person producing tequila. Jenner was also accused of not publicly acknowledging the Mexican workers who helped craft the drink.

At the time of publication, Jordan's camp did not respond to Insider's request for comment.