Hilary Duff Wanted To Spread Early Thanksgiving Cheer, Receives Backlash

Hilary Duff decided to make her red-carpet debut with her new boyfriend, Jason Walsh, over the weekend. The Younger star thought Halloween was the perfect time to do it. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the response they were hoping to receive.

Hilary Duff and Jason Walsh made their relationship red carpet official after making it Instagram official. The pair attended George Clooney, Rande Gerber, and Mike Meldman’s annual Casamigos Tequila Halloween Party in Beverly Hills, as reported via Entertainment Tonight. Duff and Walsh obviously wanted to spread some early Thanksgiving cheer, but their costumes were not thought through. Their controversial costumes made headlines more than their newfound relationship status.

Duff dressed up as a pilgrim, while her boyfriend was a Native American. Just before the bash, Duff teased her costume on Instagram.

“Sooooo the fake gun for my pilgrim costume came,” she captioned the pic. “Don’t think it’s quite big enough,” she wrote along with emojis.

Both Duff and Walsh received a backlash on social media for being culturally insensitive. The pair both apologized and released separate statements on their respective social media accounts. Duff and Walsh also take full responsibility for “not thinking through” their costumes.

“I am so sorry to people I offended with my costume,” Duff wrote on Instagram on Sunday, Oct. 30. “It was not properly thought through, and I am truly from the bottom of my [heart] sorry.”

I am SO sorry to people I offended with my costume.It was not properly thought through and I am truly, from the bottom of my ??sorry.

— Hilary Duff (@HilaryDuff) October 30, 2016

Walsh also took to Instagram, issuing an apology. “I mean to disrespect. I only have admiration for the indigenous people of America. In hindsight I would have not made that decision. I apologize to anyone I may have offended (SIC).”

Fans remarked that Duff and Walsh’s costumes were particularly insensitive in light of the ongoing Dakota Access Pipeline protests, reports People. According to protestors, the pipeline has threatened the local water supply and has destroyed Native American sites, including those of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Native American costumes, especially highly sexual versions, have been considered offensive as many perceive it an appropriation of their culture. Chris Hemsworth apologized for wearing a Native American costume at a New Year’s Eve party, saying he was “stupidly unaware” of the offense that it would cause. Hemsworth, dressed up in his Thor costume, took to Instagram to reveal that he stands with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and he apologized for wearing the controversial costume.

Duff and Walsh first confirmed they were dating back in September. Then, the couple made their relationship Instagram official just a few weeks ago, according to Entertainment Tonight. Duff shared a black-and-white photo of herself making out with her personal trainer on their “date night.”

This isn’t the only photo they have shared from their relationship. Duff also took Snapchat to reveal to her fans that she was “up all night” with Walsh. But it’s not as sexy as you may think. Duff was awake all night, so she decided to share a photo of her sleeping boyfriend and his pit bull along with the caption, “Well this isn’t fair,” as reported via E! Online.

Walsh is the first person Duff has seriously dated since her January 2014 split from ex-husband Mike Comrie. Duff and Comrie have worked hard to be good friends and co-parents for their son Luca, 4.

“Mike and I were very in love when we met. We both really wanted to get married. I’d been working since the age of 11 or 12, so making that choice at a young age seemed right for me. Maybe it wasn’t, but we spent the majority of our time together really happy. It wasn’t working well enough to stay together, but there was still a lot of love involved,” Duff told Cosmopolitan in 2015. “It was just a slow set-in of us not being the match that we used to be. I’m lucky for the person he is and I am and how we decided to handle this.”

[Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly]