Singer Gwen Stefani Claims She’s Japanese Despite Her Italian-American Heritage

Gwen Stefani has been the target of backlash recently due to her appropriation of Asian culture.

As Gwen talked about and promoted her Harajuku Lovers fragrance line, that she launched in 2008, she used plenty of references to Japanese culture and even claimed to be Japanese.

This caused plenty of eyebrows to shoot up because the 53-year-old actress has no ties whatsoever to the Asian country. Her father is Italian-American, and her mother is of Irish-American descent, but the singer has claimed several times that she identifies as part Asian.

In an interview, Jesa Marie Calaor of Allure asked Gwen about the things she learned before and during the creation of her Harajuku Lovers brand—the good, the bad, and everything in between.

To this, Gwen answered, “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.”

The singer and mother of three also recalled tales that her father, a Yamaha marketing executive, told her about his business trips to Japan. Gwen stated that she felt like she had come home when she visited Tokyo herself. She further raved, “My God, I’m Japanese, and I didn’t know it.”

Gwen’s statement caused an air of awkwardness, but the singer confidently reiterated the message before moving on and stating that there was an innocence to her love for Japanese culture.

The self-proclaimed fan of the country mentioned that she doesn’t feel right when she is criticized for her deep admiration of Japan and that she is openly sharing it with her audience.

The Hollaback Girl further defended her stand, saying, “I think it was a beautiful time of creativity… a time of the ping-pong match between Harajuku culture and American culture.” She then asked, “[It] should be okay to be inspired by other cultures because if we’re not allowed, then that’s dividing people, right?”

Aside from Japanese culture, Gwen also shared that the Latin and Hispanic communities in Anaheim, California, her hometown, influenced her.

She explained that the way the ladies did and wore their makeup and clothes contributed to her identity, and even though she is Italian-American-Irish, she became who she was because of the people surrounding her.

Jesa Marie, the interviewer, believes that Gwen was not being malicious with her claim and did not intend to hurt anybody, but she admitted that she felt unsettled during the interview.

She reiterated that the former The Voice judge and coach declared twice that she was Japanese and mentioned once that she was a little bit of an Orange Country gal.

This is not the first time that Gwen has been accused of cultural appropriation. Last year, she was slammed for appropriating black culture when she wore dreadlocks and clothes bearing the colors of the Jamaican flag.

In the 80s and 90s, Gwen, a three-time Grammy winner, was often seen wearing bindis and saris, usually worn by Hindu women.