As the Light My Fire music video causes uproar, Gwen Stefani’s concern regarding cultural appropriation is explained.
Gwen Stefani
The music video for Sean Paul’s most recent song, Light My Fire, which features Gwen Stefani and Shenseea, was made available on Wednesday, July 13. In the music video, dreadlocked singer-songwriter Stefani performed while dancing and singing along to the tune.
52-year-old Stefani is shown in the video sporting a green, yellow, and black attire that appears to have been influenced by Jamaica. Ironically, Shenseea and rapper Sean Paul, both of Jamaican descent, don’t appear to be wearing the national colors of their home nation in the music video.
Many people on Twitter accused Stefani of cultural appropriation as a result of her appearance in the video.
Netizens respond to Gwen Stefani’s participation in the music video for “Light My Fire”
A large number of internet users criticized the singer of Hollaback Girl once the video was released, saying that the dreadlocks were an appropriation of Jamaican culture. On the other hand, several tweets appeared to make fun of the criticism Gwen Stefani got and made light of the charges of cultural appropriation.
A sizable number of comments also noted that the Grammy Award-winning musician has already faced accusations of cultural appropriation.
In the 1990s, Stefani was pictured wearing bantu knots, which were first worn by the Zulu people of Southern Africa. She also had a bindi, a headpiece common to several South Asian cultures, on her forehead in the same picture. Recently, the British singer Adele received flak for wearing bantu knots in a shot.
Gwen Stefani embraced her adoration for Japan’s Harajuku culture for her first solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., released in 2004. Four Japanese dancers dressed in Harajuku garb were hired by Stefani to participate in her music videos and live shows. For a few live performances, the singer and rapper herself donned the Harajuku attire.
Alleged appropriation of Chola culture
Gwen Stefani appeared in a Chola-inspired outfit in the Luxurious music video from 2005, which recently garnered criticism. Chicano and Latino roots form the foundation of Chola culture. In 2017, Stefani stated to Latina magazine:
Cholas had a significant impact on me.
conflicting Native American fashion
Gwen Stefani’s look in the music video for the No Doubt song Looking Hot in 2012 was inspired by Native American fashion. A confrontation between cowboys and Native Americans was also shown in the film. No Doubt withdrew the video after the intense criticism.
Stefani said to Paper magazine last year:
“We wouldn’t have as much beauty, you know, if we didn’t exchange and trade our cultures.
We gain from one another as we share knowledge and experience. And all of these restrictions are only serving to further divide us.”
She continued:
Renata Ri, a former member of Hype House, claims she was thrown out of the TikTok group.
“I believe there weren’t as many rules when we were growing up. We simply had a lot more flexibility because we were free from having to follow a story that was edited for us on social media.”