This is why lots of people are offended by Madonna’s birthday outfit

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In case you missed it, it was Madonna's 60th birthday last week, and in true Madonna style, she celebrated by creating an Instagram s**t-storm. Though to be fair to her, I don't think she meant to.

The singer had a massive party in Marrakech, and for the occasion, she donned a hot pink Gucci dress, which she accessorised with a traditional headdress, jewellery and coin belt. She posted another close-up picture on Instagram, as a tribute to the Berber culture (or Amazigh, an ethnic group of North Africa).

A photo posted by on

Unfortunately, whilst Madonna might have meant this as a compliment, she was soon accused of cultural appropriation in the comments.

A photo posted by on

One user commented, 'Madonna is here. Not sure how she’s celebrating “Berber Culture” (the native people of Morocco are called Amazigh) by playing dress up and locking herself up in one of Marrakech’s most expensive boutique hotels that no “Berber” can actually afford to celebrate in, but OKAY.'

Another added, 'so madonna is referring herself as a " berber queen" ? the Disrespect'

Of course, Madonna's never been shy of causing controversy with her outfit choices, and she's previously said that she likes to be inspired by different cultures.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.