Gwen Stefani Accused of Cultural Appropriation for Appearance in New Music Video
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The Voice coach Gwen Stefani is being accused of cultural appropriation following the release of a new music video for “Light My Fire” by Sean Paul, also featuring Shenseea. Stefani sports dreadlocks in the video, sparking discussion on social media.
Gwen Stefani Faces Cultural Appropriation Accusations
In the new music video, Stefani wears a tight-fitting green and yellow outfit with fishnet accents. She’s also wearing long, blonde dreadlocks, with a bun on the top of her head. Some Twitter users criticized Stefani for the look, accusing her of cultural appropriation.
One user wrote, “Gwen Stefani is BACK with a cultural appropriation banger.” Someone else replied, “I refuse to believe no one attempted to explain this to her … so the conclusion is she’s aware and just doesn’t give a sh*t.”
Others tried to defend Stefani, with one user writing that Sean Paul himself is Jamaican and appeared with Stefani in the video, adding that he “even praised Gwen for embracing the culture for years.”
It’s true that Paul said of Stefani in an interview, “Her son is named Kingston! She loves the vibes. She wears the colors, has the arm bands. I’m like, ‘Yo, she down with the movement.’ She represents for the country.”
SEE ALSO: GWEN STEFANI RETURNS TO ‘THE VOICE’ ALONG WITH NEW COACH CAMILA CABELLO FOR SEASON 22
Stefani Has Responded to Similar Accusations
This isn’t the first time Stefani has faced such accusations. Her past accusations include, appropriating Indian, Native American and Hispanic cultures. But perhaps most notably, she receives criticism for her Japanese entourage the Harajuku Girls.
Stefani responded to the backlash in a 2021 interview with Paper magazine, saying, “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.”
The singer hasn’t addressed the latest criticism. She’s been excitedly promoting the new “Light My Fire” music video on social media this week.
Give me a break. Black women are wearing straight hair wigs down to their butt and nothing is about that. Gwen you go girl!!
30+ years ago Madonna decided to wear her bra over her clothes. Chris Cross they started a trend by wearing their clothes inside out. Gwen has a beautiful body and the personality to match. If she decided tomorrow to start wearing work overalls you guys will be questioning that too. Is it all because you don’t like how you feel in the clothes you wear. Get over yourselves, it should be about the music 🎶
Exactly right! If black women are allowed to have their hair blond or wear blond wigs then everyone should just be quiet because no one says a word about that! And she’s exactly right when she says all of this making an issue about every single thing she does is just dividing us more and more! Get over yourselves!
Historians have uncovered Roman accounts stating that the Celts wore their hair “like snakes” and that several Germanic tribes and Vikings were known to wear dreadlocks. Sorry Jamaicans you don’t own it!
Sorry, Vikings from Scandinavia, Celts from the United Kingdom, and many Germanic Tribes also wrote their hair in braids and what would be considered today as dreadlocks. It’s a worldwide historic hairdo, not a cultural thing. Blackbeard used dreads with fuses tied in to scare his enemies.
Who gives a rat’s ass…
Why then is it ok for black women to bleach their hair blond, wear blond wigs? So stupid!!!
Give me a break #mishka
No doubt was ska/reggae from day one, this is ridiculous
Ummm…the Celts wore dreads 1000 years ago, people still lookin to get offended…
This is bull shit! I grew up in the 70’s I am hispanic it didn’t matter what color you were having braids in your hair in the late 70’s was fresh. None of this bolognese about racial appropriation. As far as I’m concerned you style your hair the way you like it. This is going out of order.
Anyone else starting to get the feeling that troll opinions are being passed off as legitimate political criticisms more and more? Instead of comments made to enrage people because some inferiority complex basement dweller was allowed on social media? 😆 We really need to stop feeding these trolls. I miss the days before the internet where there was no way to even hear about this bs! I’m not exactly a fan of her music, but she rocks those dreads.
Side bar: Shensea is still beautiful!
Second side bar: Rasta got soul, Reggae music rocking my bones!
marcelito should have won that America’s Got Talent with this first song nobody could touch him
Did we forget the concept of free country? Give it a rest people.
She’s a rock star not a country star!wht o you expect?