“My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it,” the singer said to Allure magazine. Stefani is Italian-American. The star has been criticised in the past for using elements of Japanese culture in her music – including the promo campaign for 2004 album Love. Angel. Music. Baby and her merchandise, like the Harajuku Lovers perfume range. Stefani has also been criticised for appropriating South Asian, Black, Native American and Latin cultures at various points in her career. Allure reported that Stefani said she was Japanese twice during the interview and described herself as “a little bit of an Orange County girl, a little bit of a Japanese girl, a little bit of an English girl." The singer previously responded to criticisms of cultural appropriation regarding her "Harajuku Girls" backing dancers in 2021. Told of Margaret Cho’s criticism of the dancers (in which she compared them to a minstrel show) Stefani said: “If we didn’t buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn’t have so much beauty, you know?" Maybe a hint of a point here, but media training course upcoming for you we think, Gwen. Via NME