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Katy Perry Responds to Cultural Appropriation Criticism
Katy Perry did a Big Brother-esque live stream all weekend long to promote her new album, Witness. She had a ton of guests including James Corden, Gordon Ramsay, and Caitlyn Jenner. She also sat down with activist Deray Mckesson, who is best known for being a prominent voice in the Black Lives Matter movement.
The 32-year-old singer talked about how she’s been criticized for cultural appropriation. And she owned up to some of the mistakes she’s made, like the time she wore cornrows and ate watermelon in her music video for “This Is How We Do.” Perry said she had to be educated on why it was inappropriate for her to do this.
“I’ve made several mistakes, even in the This is How We Do music video, about how I wore my hair, and having a hard conversation … about what does it mean. Why can’t I wear my hair that way? Or what is the history behind wearing the hair that way? And [I learned] about the power in black women’s hair,” she explained.
Perry also admitted to inappropriately wearing a geisha outfit during her performance at the American Music Awards. “Even in my intention to appreciate Japanese culture, I did it wrong,” she confessed.
The singer said that while she understands the mistakes she made — in reality she will never truly get the heart of the issue. “I listened, and I heard, and I didn’t know, and I won’t ever understand some of those things, because of who I am,” she said. “I will never understand, but I can educate myself.”
I'm proud of Katy for acknowledging her mistakes with cultural appropriation. She's learning pic.twitter.com/uyHd3upmzx
— la bella vita (@drugproblem) June 11, 2017
Despite Perry’s heartfelt message, some people are still calling her out — saying she’s just doing this to sell more albums. One critic was April Reign, who created the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag.
Your WCW has a new album to sell so she's going on an apology tour but not speaking to the WOC from whom she appropriated. She's 32. ???? https://t.co/tIBRDqF7hB
— April (@ReignOfApril) June 11, 2017
In other entertainment news, Lindsay Lohan is heading to the small screen:
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