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Gwen Stefani Denies Cultural Appropriation Of Japanese Culture
In a recent interview, singer Gwen Stefani defended her love for and integration of Japanese culture into her career — what some have called cultural appropriation.
By Paula Gallagher2 min read
Gwen Stefani loves Japanese culture and has since she was a little girl. Even though she grew up in Anaheim, CA, her father did market research for Yamaha in the 1970s, which included business trips to Japan. He would bring home Sanrio toys and stories about Harajuku, a district of Tokyo, where “teenagers were dressing like Elvis” and were “taking all these American things and making them Japanese." Stefani was enthralled: “He would be telling me these things my whole life, like my whole life. I had a deep fascination."