Gwen Stefani cultural appropriation controversy explained as Light My Fire music video sparks backlash

On Wednesday, July 13, Sean Paul released the music video for his latest track, Light My Fire, featuring Gwen Stefani and Shenseea. The video showcased singer-songwriter Stefani in dreadlocks as she danced and sang to the lyrics of the song.

In the video, 52-year-old Stefani can be seen wearing a green, yellow and black dress, which seems to have been inspired from Jamaica. Ironically, her Jamaican-native collaborators, rapper Sean Paul and singer Shenseea, do not seem to sport the colors of their home country's flag in the video.

Stefani's appearance in the video led to many accusing her of cultural appropriation on Twitter.

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Netizens react to Gwen Stefani's appearance in Light My Fire music video

Following the release of the video, a legion of netizens called out the Hollaback Girl singer, claiming that she had appropriated Jamaican culture with the dreadlocks. On the other side, numerous tweets seemed to mock the flak Gwen Stefani received and joked about the accusations of cultural appropriation.

Meanwhile, a considerable number of tweets also pointed out that this is not the first time the Grammy-winning singer has been accused of cultural appropriation.

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Listing the previous cultural appropriation allegations against Gwen Stefani

Bantu knots

Stefani was photographed sporting bantu knots, which originated from the Zulu people of Southern Africa, in the 1990s. Furthermore, in the same photograph, she wore a bindi on her forehead, which is native to some South Asian cultures. Recently, British singer Adele had also faced criticism for sporting bantu knots in a photograph.

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Harajuku controversy

For her first solo studio album in 2004, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Gwen Stefani embraced her admiration for Japan's Harajuku culture. Stefani had four Japanese dancers, dressed in the Harajuku style, appear in her music videos and live performances. The singer and rapper herself also dressed in the Harajuku outfits for a few live performances.

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Alleged Chola cultural appropriation

In 2005, Gwen Stefani's Luxurious music video showcased her in a Chola-inspired look, which drew criticisms recently. The Chola culture originates from Chicano and Latino roots. Stefani told Latina magazine in 2017:

"Cholas had a huge influence on me."

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Native American style controversy

In 2012, Gwen Stefani was inspired by Native American style for her appearance in the music video for No Doubt group's Looking Hot. The video further included a fight between cowboys and Native Americans. Following the massive backlash, the video was removed by No Doubt.

Last year, Stefani 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."

She further said:

"I think that we grew up in a time where we didn't have so many rules. We didn't have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had so much more freedom."

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While the reason behind Stefani's appreciation for so many cultures is not known, her admiration for the Hispanic culture might be explained by her native city of Fullerton, California. According to California Demographics, Fullerton has a Hispanic majority population of around 37 percent.