Gwen Stefani defends featuring all-Asian dance group during ‘Harajuku Girls’ era & slams ‘cultural appropriation’ claims
GWEN Stefani is defending featuring an all-Asian dance group during the Harajuku Girls era of her solo career.
The music icon also clapped back at claims she's a culprit of "cultural appropriation."
Gwen told Paper magazine: "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."
Gwen also explained she became very interested in Japanese culture as a child when her father worked in the country.
She said of traveling to Japan in 1996 with No Doubt: "It was a pretty big deal for me."
Gwen went on of then incorporating a piece of Japanese culture into her solo career: "I never got to have dancers with No Doubt. I never got to change costumes. I never got to do all of those fun girl things that I always love to do.
"So I had this idea that I would have a posse of girls — because I never got to hang with girls — and they would be Japanese, Harajuku girls, because those are the girls that I love. Those are my homies."
Those four women, whose stage names, Love, Angel, Music and Baby, were often mentioned in Gwen's music also served as the title for her debut solo album in late 2004.
The Hollaback Girl also went on to design a Harajuku Lovers clothing line, and said Japan is "where I would be if I had my dream come true, I could go live there and I could go hang out in Harajuku."
The Voice's fans slammed alum Gwen Stefani's look during the finale performance featuring new brunette bangs and baggy red leather pants.
The 51-year-old first shocked fans when she showed off her new hair color on social media ahead of her performance.
She rocked a brunette ponytail and bangs with the sides of her head dyed blonde.
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Gwen was previously married to Bush rocker Gavin Rossdale from 2002 to 2016, and they share three kids: Kingston, 14, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, seven.
The Just a Girl singer has been engaged to fellow Voice coach Blake Shelton, 44, since last year after dating for five years.
Back in 2O15, Blake and his ex-wife, Miranda Lambert, 37, finalized their divorce after about four years of marriage.
