More about: Avril Lavigne
Singer laughs off claims video is racist
Avril Lavigne has defended her already infamous video for 'Hello Kitty', dismissing accusations of racism with a hearty "lololol".
The internet briefly exploded on Wednesday (April 23) when the singer's latest video for the abhorrent dubstep/pop Frankenstein 'Hello Kitty' surfaced online - and it was almost as bad as the song, which is really saying something.
Shot in Japan, the clip features Avril running around and genuinely being a bit irritating with a troupe of dead-eyed, identikit Japanese dancers in tow. Many have accused the video of being "racist" and appropriating Japanese culture, but it sounds like Avril's in denial.
"Racist? Lololol!" she wrote on her Twitter page. "I love Japanese culture and I spend half my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video specifically for my Japanese fans, with my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan."
Congratulations, Avril, but we still think you're slightly missing the point. Please read up on the Wikipedia definition of cultural appropriation and then try apologising again.
If you haven't already, watch the whole sorry affair below:
Below: The 5 worst moments of Avril Lavigne's 'Hello Kitty' video
Her dead-eyed dancers: Oh, joy. Never since Gwen Stefani and her poor Harajuku Girls has a group of Asian women be so dumbed down, made to look indentikit and paraded around as a white singer's accessory. They continue to look like, well, dolls for the remainder of the video, in comparison to Avril's SPUNKY! LIVELINESS! AND QUIRKINESS!
Every single bit posing with the bloody guitar: This woman is 29 years old.
TEEHEE, SUSHI!: Clapping and giggling with excitement when given a tray of sushi - all of these things are TOTALLY Japanese (the only thing that's missing is the anime). It's like a video director being given a brief for a French-themed clip and filling it with baguettes, onions and striped tops. Did the researcher ever get past simply letting Google autofill after the word 'Japan'?
When she acts like the Queen: There's a particularly irritating segment when Avril swans around, waving to her fans (…) like she's transformed their monotonous, black-and-white, Western-starved world with one single hand gesture. In reality, she was probably waving at one big ol' tumbleweed. :(
Poor Monki: Here we see Avril wearing those suspender tights we briefly and regrettably flirted with wearing in 2010. In the background you can see popular Swedish outfitters Monki, who never asked for this product placement.
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More about: Avril Lavigne
