Gwen Stefani On Harajuku Era: This week, Gwen Stefani received criticism for declaring “I’m Japanese” in a recent interview.
“My God, I’m Japanese and didn’t know it,” I exclaimed. When questioned about long-standing claims of cultural appropriation, Stefani spoke to Allure in an interview released this week about how she felt after visiting Tokyo’s Harajuku district and seeing its fashion subculture.
Stefani’s 2004 album “Love. Angel. Music. Baby,” her “Harajuku Lovers” fragrance line, and her L.A.M.B. clothing line—all of which drew extensively from Japanese fashion and culture—were the causes of the initial reaction.
In the interview that was made public on Tuesday, Stefani referred to herself as a “big fan.” “If [people] are going to attack me for sharing something lovely and being a fan of it, then I just think that doesn’t feel right,” she continued.
She went on, “I believe that the period of innovation was lovely. At the time, a ping-pong duel was taking place between American and Harajuku cultures. If we’re not permitted to draw inspiration from different cultures, that’s dividing people, isn’t it?”
Stefani referred to herself as “Japanese” more than once during the conversation, the interviewer claimed, and she also described herself as “a little bit of an Orange County girl, a little bit of a Japanese girl, and a little bit of an English girl” at one point.
A Stefani representative did not immediately answer an inquiry for comment from Fox News Digital. After the interview, Stefani’s representative contacted them and “indicated” that they had “misunderstood what Stefani was attempting to say.” Still, they declined to offer an “on-the-record statement or clarification of these words,” the author of the Allure story writes.
People immediately criticized Gwen Stefani on social media, posting things like “Here’s an example of what NOT to say in an interview” and “If Gwen Stefani claims Japanese heritage because her dad worked at Yamaha, I claim Minifigure heritage since my dad worked at LEGO.”
“Gwen Stefani should have taken her counsel here: Don’t Speak,” another person said.
“Gwen Stefani used Asian women as props to help her get rich, and her response is… “I’m Japanese”????” a fourth wrote.
Others, though, supported the celebrity.
Someone said, “Leave Gwen Stefani alone, kid. I was raised in NYC. Numerous cultures have influenced me. If she also values other cultures, that should be viewed positively rather than negatively.”
“Wow, what you guys try to do to sell your magazines all I can see from Gwen is that she loves the Japanese culture just like she likes my Mexican culture,” another said.
The person seems to be alluding to Stefani’s remarks in the Allure interview, where it was highlighted that Stefani stated she also identifies with the Hispanic and Latinx populations in her native Anaheim, California.
“The music, the way the girls wore their makeup, the clothes they wore, that was my identity,” Stefani shared. “Even though I’m an Italian American — Irish or whatever mutt that I am — that’s who I became because those were my people, right?” Keep yourself updated with all the latest news from our website Newswatchlist.com and get all the recent updates.