Russell Wilson's wife Ciara blasted for ‘disrespectful' sheer dress — critics say she emasculated NFL star

Time of India

5 hours ago

Ciara's daring sheer gown at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in March 2023 ignited social media (Getty Images)
In March 2023, Ciara set social media ablaze after stepping onto the Vanity Fair Oscar Party red carpet in a daring, crystal-studded sheer gown designed by Peter Dundas. The dress, which revealed a thong and bared most of her back, triggered a wave of criticism — but the nature of the backlash raised deeper questions about how Black women are policed for expressing their bodies.
Ciara's sheer Vanity Fair dress sparked outrage — but was the backlash rooted in misogynoir?
Many online critics took issue with Ciara's outfit not simply because it was revealing, but because she is a wife and mother. Culture writer Tiwa Adebayo noted the hypocrisy of this reaction, especially since other celebrities — including Emily Ratajkowski and Hunter Schafer — wore similarly revealing dresses that night but were largely spared the same judgment.
'It looks like the biggest group criticizing her, especially on Twitter, is actually Black men,' said Adebayo, who connected the outrage to respectability politics and the perception that Ciara's choice of attire reflected poorly on her husband,
NFL
quarterback
Russell Wilson
.
'They've taken [the dress] and applied it to her husband... implying he doesn't have control over his woman in quite a damaging way.'
A viral clapback and a deeper cultural critique
Ciara responded to the backlash with humor, posting a TikTok where she strutted in a full white sheet to audio from her red carpet moment. She captioned it 'selective outrage' — a pointed nod to the inconsistency in how society treats women's fashion choices, particularly for Black women.
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Race and gender therapist Donna Oriowo reminded critics, 'Her husband is her partner, not her owner.' She added, 'Too often we equate love with ownership, and maleness with dominance over a wife.'
The controversy surrounding Ciara's dress was not an isolated event but part of a larger pattern, one that disproportionately targets Black women for breaking unspoken social rules.
As Adebayo concluded, 'It's symptomatic of a wider trend of having contradictory high standards for Black women.' More than just a fashion statement, Ciara's dress forced a cultural reckoning with deep-rooted double standards.
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Russell Wilson's wife Ciara slammed for shaming single women and telling them to 'act like wives' to get a man
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