An Airbnb listing has been removed after a guest revealed the ‘genuinely insane’ décor inside.
TikTok user Erica posted a video from the southern home that she was staying at last week, showing decorations that included cotton bouquets, cotton branches and cotton wreaths hanging on a wall with monkeys dangling down.
She wrote it was ‘Southern Airbnb core’ in the video that has since been viewed more than 2.2million times – as viewers express their exasperation.
‘Not the Get Out sequel set up,’ one user commented.
An Airbnb guest shared some of the apparently racist décor from the house she was staying at
The décor appeared to harken back to the days of slavery, when millions were forced to pick cotton on plantations.
According to the National Parks Service, about 1.8million of the nation’s 3.2million enslaved people were growing and picking cotton by 1850.
Ten years later, enslaved labor produced over two billion pounds of cotton each year.
In Virginia – where the Airbnb was apparently located, based on a map depicted inside – 550,000 enslaved black people constituted one-third of the state’s population by 1860, according to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
The majority of the inhabitants in some of Virginia’s eastern counties were held in bondage, and the state later joined the Confederates in the Civil War.
Erica W., who is on TikTok as @tasteofmelanin, said Airbnb told her they removed the listing
At around the same time period, many Americans believed in the idea of polygenesis – the separate origin for the races, which they felt made white people more superior, The Conversation reports.
Many TikTok users could not believe the setup at the Airbnb. ‘THE MONKEYS ON THE COTTON IS DIABOLICAL,’ one user commented on her video.
Some viewers also urged Erica to report the listing to Airbnb.
‘Report to Airbnb IMMEDIATELY,’ one person wrote, while another said she should take pictures – calling the décor ‘genuinely insane.’
The decorations included stuffed monkeys hanging from cotton branches
The imagery appeared to harken back to the days of slavery, when slaves were forced to pick cotton
‘Ya’ll cotton décor is so normalized in the south it gives me anxiety every time,’ another added.
‘Hey! so this is insane,’ someone else wrote. ‘This is wicked,’ said another.
Erica later commented on the video: ‘Update: Airbnb reached out and removed the listing.’ DailyMail.com has reached out to Airbnb for comment.
