Gwen Stefani recently made headlines after an interview with Allure magazine in which she claimed to be Japanese. The pop star received a lot of backlash for these comments and has been accused of cultural appropriation. The controversy raised a lot of questions about what it means to be respectful when engaging with other cultures.
This week’s episode unpacks the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. In order to do this, it draws on the expertise of Melissa Vela-Williamson, an award-winning PR practitioner, national PR columnist, author, and podcast host, who has a rich and deep background in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and how this relates to communication. Tune in to find out whether Gwen is guilty of cultural appropriation or cultural appreciation and hear an important list of some of the dos and don’ts of multicultural practices for anyone in communication.
Key Points From This Episode:
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Molly's TikTok about Gwen Stefani
Allure - "Gwen Stefani: "I Said, 'My God, I'm Japanese'""
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