Gwen Stefani repeatedly insists she is ‘Japanese’ despite no no ethnic ties to Asia

Gwen Stefani has stood up for her Harajuku era once again, despite sparking accusations of cultural appropriation of Asian culture for her personal gain.

While discussing her now-controversial Harajuku Lovers fragrance line, which launched in 2008, and the frequent use of Japanese subculture over the years, the singer, 53, raised eyebrows by repeatedly insisting that she was japanese.

Despite having no ethnic ties to the country as the daughter of an Italian-American father and an Irish-American mother, the artist claimed to identify as part Asian.

No Regrets: Gwen Stefani has stood up for her Harajuku era once again, despite sparking accusations of cultural appropriation of Asian culture for her personal gain; seen in 2004

During an interview with SeduceJesa Marie Calaor, asked the artist what she learned from creating the Harajuku Lovers brand, “considering her praise, backlash and everything in between.”

‘That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich in tradition, yet so futuristic. [with] such attention to artistry, detail and discipline, and it was fascinating to me,’ he told the interviewer, who is Filipino.

Plus, the mother-of-three marveled that after years of listening to her father reminisce about his work trips to Japan as a marketing executive for Yamaha, visiting Tokyo felt like home.

Backlash: When discussing her now-controversial Harajuku Lovers fragrance line, which launched in 2008, and the frequent use of Japanese subculture over the years, the singer, 53, raised her eyebrows as she insisted repeatedly that she was Japanese.

“I said, ‘Oh my God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it,'” Stefani said delirious.

When the author noticed a bit of awkwardness “in the air between” them, Stefani said, “I am, you know.”

He then proceeded to note that there is ‘innocence’ in his love of Japanese culture.

The self-proclaimed ‘super fan’ from Japan said it ‘doesn’t feel right’ for her when she receives criticism for being a fan ‘of something beautiful and sharing that’.

Bizarre Claims: Despite having no ethnic ties to the country as the daughter of an Italian-American father and an Irish-American mother, the artist claimed to identify as part Asian; photographed in 2006

“I think it was a beautiful moment of creativity…a ping-pong game moment between Harajuku culture and American culture,” Hollaback Girl continued.

The country star’s wife, Blake Shelton, later asked: ‘[It] it should be okay to draw inspiration from other cultures because if we’re not allowed to, that’s dividing people, right?’

Additionally, Stefani said she was influenced by the Hispanic and Latino communities in her hometown of Anaheim, California.

Controversial: The mother-of-three marveled that after years of listening to her father reminisce about his work trips to Japan as a marketing executive for Yamaha, visiting Tokyo felt like home.

“The music, the way the girls did their makeup, the clothes they wore, that was my identity,” she explained. “Even though I’m an Italian-American, Irish, or whatever, I became that because those were my people, right?”

While the interviewer said she doesn’t think “Stefani was trying to be malicious or hurtful by making these statements,” they did make her “uneasy.”

Calaor noted that the former The Voice judge “stated twice that she was Japanese and once that she was ‘a bit like an Orange County girl, a bit like a Japanese girl, a bit like an English girl’ during their conversation.” .

In 2021, Stefani addressed the criticism she received on her career when she faced claims of cultural appropriation surrounding her 2004 solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby during an interview with Paper magazine.

Awkward: While the interviewer said she doesn’t think ‘Stefani was trying to be malicious or hurtful by making these statements’, they did make her ‘uneasy’

During this time, she was often accompanied by Japanese-American backup dancers called the Harajuku Girls.

Gwen reflected in the interview: ‘If we didn’t buy, sell and trade our cultures, we wouldn’t have such beauty, you know? We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other.’

‘And all these rules are dividing us more and more… I think we grew up in a time when we didn’t have as many rules. We didn’t have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had a lot more freedom.”

While in the rock band, No Doubt, in the 1980s, she frequently wore a bindi, which is traditionally worn by Hindu women (seen in 1997)

Culture appropriation: Plus, she’s landed in hot water for wearing braids (pictured in 2000)

Last year, the former three-time Grammy winner came under fire for appropriating black culture while wearing dreadlocks and the colors of the Jamaican flag.

While in the rock band, No Doubt, in the 1980s, she frequently wore a bindi, which Hindu women wear.

She has since stated that she wore bindis and sarees as a “cultural exchange with her bandmate Tony Kanal, who is Indian-American,” according to page six.

In 2019, the music admitted to feeling “a bit defensive” when people refer to their Harajuku era as culture appropriation.

“You take pride in your culture and you have traditions, and then you share them to create new things,” he said. Billboard.

‘If we didn’t buy, sell and trade our cultures, we wouldn’t have such beauty, you know? We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other,’ she asked in 2021.