News

Gwen Stefani Criticized For Declaring ‘I’m Japanese’

Gwen Stefani is facing another wave of cultural appropriation accusations after saying she’s “Japanese” in a recent interview with Allure.

In the article, the singer, 53, doubled down on one of her most controversial endeavors: the Harajuku era.

During the promotion of her 2004 debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Stefani regularly paraded around four Japanese backup dancers who she called her “Harajuku girls,” and Japanese-inspired imagery was used in many of her performances, even being compared to blackface.

IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED IN 2022

She also released her Harajuku Lovers perfume line in 2008 and a Harajuku Mini fashion line in 2011.

With the release of her new vegan cosmetics line, GXVE, Stefani discussed her previous beauty venture. Asian-American journalist Jesa Marie Calor writes about asking Stefani “what she felt she may have learned from Harajuku lovers – considering its praise, backlash and everything in between.”

Stefani responded with an oft-repeated story about how she traveled between California and Japan for 18 years while her father worked at Yamaha.

“That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic [with] so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me,” Stefani said. She continued that she traveled to Harajuku, a district in Tokyo, about which she recalled, “I said, ‘my God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it.”

The star told Calor that it “doesn’t feel right” for people to criticize her for “being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that.”

Calor wrote that she called herself Japanese multiple times throughout the interview, once calling herself “a little bit of an Orange County girl, a little bit of a Japanese girl, a little bit of an English girl.” The journalist wrote that a key distinction between appreciation and appropriation is something Stefani knows very well: commodification.

Stefani has been the subject of grievances from many groups in her decades-long career. She has imitated Hispanic culture and sexualized its religious symbols, worn a bindi as a costume and dressed up in stereotypical Native American attire in a No Doubt music video.

The Harajuku era has without a doubt had the longest-lasting impact, and her recent statements about it have prompted many fans to call out the pop icon on social media.

Miranda Dipaolo

Recent Posts

VIDEO: Madrid Police Rescue 50 Cats Found In Filthy Conditions

https://youtu.be/uqXFl2_P-6k Police in Madrid have rescued over 50 cats living in dire conditions, lacking food,…

57 mins ago

Henry Winkler Says He Blocked His Daughter From Starring On ‘The Bachelorette’ With Kim Kardashian ‘For Her Protection’

In addition to saving his daughter from the inherent emotional distress and trauma caused by…

1 hour ago

Alec Baldwin Mocked After Leaving Zipper Down On ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Fans Call It Hillarious ‘Senior Moment’

Earlier in the episode, Baldwin debuted his impersonation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which also…

1 hour ago

Cher Recalls When Convicted Murderer Phil Spector Pulled A Gun On Her After He Released Her Song Without Permission

Spector shot and killed actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. Despite his claims that it was…

3 hours ago

JonBenét Ramsey’s Father, Once A Suspect In 6-Year-Old’s Murder, Thinks He Knows Who Killed His Daughter

A new three-part docuseries entitled Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey will be streaming on…

3 hours ago

‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett’s Conviction Overturned For Faking 2019 Hate Crime

Smollett’s lead attorney Nenye Uche said the case should have never gone to trial in…

16 hours ago