No Doubt apologies to fans for 'offensive' Native American video
Fans unimpressed by the Native American imagery
by Grace Carroll | Photos by WENN
Tags: No Doubt
No Doubt have apologised to fans offended by their recently-released video for new single 'Looking Hot', after offending fans who considered the band's portrayal of Native Americans as offensive.
The video was released on 2 November and had Native American imagery featured in it, including teepees and smoke signals. It also showed lead singer Gwen Stefani wearing a feathered headdress. The band performed the track on X Factor last night (4 November, 2012).
However, Native American fans of the band were offended by the imagery used and left YouTube comments complaining about it, leading the band to remove the video from the site.
The fans also wrote comments about the video on No Doubt's official forum, with one user saying: "it has nothing to do with intent. whether they intended it to hurt or not, it’s irrelevant because it’s still trivializing and appropriating the culture. it hurts. thats it. this is hurtful to Native American communities. very simple."
A still from the now removed video shows Gwen as a 'Native American princess'.
The band took to their website to release a statement about the video, writing: "As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history.
"Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people. This is of great concern to us and we are removing the video immediately.
"The music that inspired us when we started the band, and the community of friends, family, and fans that surrounds us was built upon respect, unity and inclusiveness.
"We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video. Being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are."
The video was directed by Melina Matsoukas, who previously experienced controversy when her video for Rihanna's 'S&M' was accused of being "directly derived" from David LaChapelle's work, leading to a lawsuit.
Watch No doubt perform 'Looking Hot' on X Factor
Photos: No Doubt live on US TV
