Gwen Stefani insists she is 'Japanese' as she defends cultural appropriation era

10 January 2023 , 23:18

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Gwen Stefani insists she is 'Japanese' as she defends cultural appropriation era

Gwen Stefani insisted she is Japanese as she hit back at critics of her Harajuku era.

The 53-year-old singer sparked accusations of cultural appropriation of Asian culture after frequently incorporating Japan's subculture into her brand over the years.

Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another.

During her Lamb era, Gwen would often appear alongside four Japanese and Japanese-American women whom she referred to as her 'Harajuku Girls'.

She now faces fresh criticism for trying to defend her controversial Harajuku Lovers fragrance line and repeatedly insisting she is Japanese, despite having no ethnic ties to the country.

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Gwen has insisted she is Japanese (WireImage)

She launched a controversial Harajuku label

In a new interview, Gwen was asked what she learned from creating the Harajuku Lovers brand, "considering its praise, backlash, and everything in between."

She replied: "That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic, so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me."

The No Doubt hitmaker also said Tokyo felt like home after years of hearing her dad talk about his work trips to Japan.

The singer said Tokyo feels like home (Getty Images)

"I said, 'My God, I'm Japanese and I didn't know it'," Gwen said in an interview with Allure.

She went on to insist she is Japanese when interviewer Jesa Marie Calaor, who is Filipina, noted a bit of awkwardness between them.

Gwen also noted that her love of Japanese culture is innocent and called herself a "super fan" of the country.

The star said it "doesn't feel right" when she faces criticism for being a fan of "something beautiful and sharing that".

Gwen said she wants to share her love of Japan (GC Images)

She added: "'I think it was a beautiful time of creativity, a time of the ping-pong match between Harajuku culture and American culture."

Gwen then said people should be allowed to be inspired by other cultures otherwise it was "dividing people".

The singer previously responded to claims of cultural appropriation in an interview with Paper magazine.

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"If we didn’t buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn’t have so much beauty, you know?

"We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other. And all these rules are just dividing us more and more," she said.

Scarlett O'Toole