Ariana Grande's new single and music video, "7 Rings," made a splash when it dropped in January, but the artist is still dealing with some unfortunate ripples. In the immediate aftermath of the release, Soulja Boy and Princess Nokia accused her of copying their music. Then, after getting what she believed was a "7 Rings" tattoo in Japanese characters, fans pointed out that it was misspelled — twice. Now, she's fighting off accusations of cultural appropriation.
When TMZ reported that Grande had been offered $1 million to remove the tattoo, Grande replied "I'll give y'all a million to get off my nuts," before continuing in a now-deleted monologue on the platform.
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i’ll give y’all a million to get off my nuts https://t.co/7yMyP0eHtt
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 2, 2019
"I also went back and got it fixed with the help of my tutor to be more accurate. I can't read or write kanji obviously. what do you want me to do? it was done out of love and appreciation. what do you want me to say?" she continued, according to screenshots. "u kno how many people make this mistake and DON'T care just cause they like how it looks? bruh ... i care soooo much. what would you like me to do or say? forreal."
Grande also went on to clarify that she did not mean to appropriate, only appreciate, and added in another reply that she was learning Japanese because she hoped to move there one day.
"There is a difference between appropriation and appreciation," she wrote. "My japanese fans were always excited when i wrote in japanese or wore japanese sayings on my clothing. however, all of the merch with japanese on it was taken down from my site not that anyone cared to notice."
If you wanted any more proof that Ariana Grande is a white woman and culture vulture, look how she’s spinning the backlash. After strategically commodifying non-whiteness, she’s suddenly feigning innocence, spinning the criticism as unfair, and performing white woman victimhood. pic.twitter.com/nAlwBsVqkr
— Muqing M. Zhang (@muqingmzhang) February 2, 2019
However, some people aren't buying it.
"Ariana Grande appropriates non-white cultures to be 'sassy' and 'exotic,'" writer Muqing M. Zhang tweeted. "Yet once she’s called out she performs white woman victimhood and invokes her “anxiety” to manipulate people into thinking shes an ~innocent little girl~ being bullied, while inciting her stans to attack."
Currently, Grande's tattoo still reads "Japanese BBQ finger."