NBC "The Voice" John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Camila Cabello, and Blake Shelton
“The Voice” coach Gwen Stefani is facing backlash from fans after an interview with Allure Magazine in which she said she is Japanese.
Fans were quick to take to Stefani’s social media to criticize her for the comment.
“Is claiming to be Japanese to avoid accountability for using women of color as props a part of your plan for the future of fluttery lashes?” one person wrote in the comments of a recent Instagram video.
Another simply wrote, “You’re not Japanese.”
Others took to Twitter, with one person tweeting, “It is disappointing that Gwen Stefani is choosing to double-down on her Orientalism in 2023. I remember how uncomfortable her ‘Harajuku Girls’ era made me almost 20 years ago, but it wasn’t easy to share those feelings pre-social media.”
Gwen Stefani Says She’s a ‘Super Fan’ of Japanese Culture
imagine your parents are italian-american and irish-american and you grew up in anaheim and you decide of your own free will to say that you’re japanese because your dad worked in marketing for yamaha
The comment picked up on by fans of the singer came when the author of the Allure interview, Allure’s Jesa Marie Calaor, asked Stefani about the backlash she’d previously received regarding her “Harajuku Girls.”
Stefani told the interviewer about her father’s travels to Japan when she was growing up and her eventually traveling to the country herself when she was an adult.
“I said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it,'” she said. “I am, you know.”
After asserting herself as a “super fan” of the culture, the No Doubt singer added, “If [people are] going to criticize me for being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that, then I just think that doesn’t feel right.”
Gwen Stefani Says It ‘Sucks’ That Blake Shelton Left ‘The Voice’
Stefani met her husband, Blake Shelton, while coaching on NBC’s “The Voice,” and they wrapped up their last season together in 2022 after Shelton announced his exit. Stefani opened up to ET Online about why Shelton’s exit has been hard for her.
“It’s just been a really amazing season, too short,” Stefani shared. “It’s mine and Blake’s last season… I can’t even get the words out of my mouth ’cause it sucks.”
She added, “I never in my life would’ve pictured me doing something like this, and it’s been one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. I love being a coach, I love watching the contestants grow, I love having an impact, it’s super inspiring for me. And then, on top of it, I meet my best friend here, that’s gonna be mine forever.”
Shelton will compete on his last season of “The Voice” in early 2023 alongside Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan.
In the statement about his exit from the competition show, Shelton shared that he was “wrestling” with the decision for some time.
“I’ve been wrestling with this for a while, and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from The Voice after Season 23,” Shelton shared. “This show has changed my life in every way for the better, and it will always feel like home to me. It’s been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns, and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people; you are the best.”
Shelton and Stefani tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in July 2021.