Avril Lavigne, characterized in the early 2000s by her red plaid and easy-to-digest pop/alternative singles such as “Sk8r Boy,” “Girlfriend,” and “I’m With You,” has released and culturally appropriative and rather childish new single titled “Hello Kitty.” The video was uploaded to YouTube on April 22, but was promptly taken down because it had not been officially released to the public yet.

However, the video did not go unnoticed and quickly received criticism for its fetishization of Japanese culture. The song opens with Lavigne singing “Minna saiko arigato” which translates loosely to “You rock, thank you.” Behind her are four Japanese women in identical outfits and hair styles, dancing in a passive, robotic manner with no expressions on their faces whatsoever. It raises the question as to whether she is portraying a racist stereotype.

This apparent use of Japan and Japanese girls as props is reminiscent of Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls, four Japanese women who followed her on tour and caused critics to accuse Stefani of reinforcing negative stereotypes of Asian women.

“RACIST??? LOLOLOL!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time on 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,” Lavigne tweeted in response.

She doesn’t seem to realize that this “love” of Japan is exactly the problem. Racism isn’t always hating another culture. Quite often, it is subconsciously believing that you are above that culture and therefore it is okay to treat that culture like an accessory.

Lavigne’s video promotes the idea that Japan is nothing more than cute and cartoonish, as opposed to a rich, complex, and centuries-old culture. Also, the song and the video are just plain embarrassing. The cupcake skirt she wears in the video and the lyrics – “Mom’s not home tonight / So we can roll around, have a pillow fight / Like a major rager OMFG” – come off as juvenile, as she is turning 30 this year. It’s time to grow up and make music that doesn’t appropriate another culture, as many young and impressionable teens (particularly girls) look up to Lavigne and shouldn’t be taught that it’s acceptable to fetishize another culture.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Parkway School District.