The All-Canadian Kitty, Avril Lavigne, Parties To “Hello Kitty” In Japan!

Ms. Lavigne has been a Pop-Punk icon for over a decade. Since her golden star single “Sk8tr Boy,” released at the young age of 17, Lavigne has charmed us with her Tomboy-ish, sometimes girly Pink & Black, style.

She recently released a Music Video to go with her latest Single, “Hello Kitty!” Yes, Avril has turned for the brighter side of Punk. In this video we see her covered in bright pastels, cupcakes, cookies, and candy. She features an entourage of bright but very serious Japanese girls that dance along with the beat of “Hello Kitty.”

Some people of course have thought of the video to represent some stereotypes of the Modern Japanese culture, to then assuming it to be a Racism stunt. Because you know that making a song called Hello Kitty, dressing in bright pastels, hanging out with a group of Japanese girls, and eating Sushi is so very racist……

Obviously Avril would be very upset with these accusations, therefore she tweeted, “RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of 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.”
On the other hand a Japanese columnist mentioned; “If anything, the video feels like surface-layer self-indulgence of the more stereotypical Japanese image as perceived by a foreigner. Not racist – just shallow. It’s like when someone discovers anime for the first time and becomes convinced that everything Japan and Japanese is superior.” – Toshi Nakamura

Check out the video, and let me know your thoughts on the matter, feel free to comment below!