‘The Voice’ Coach Gwen Stefani Called Herself Japanese and Hispanic: ‘That’s Who I Am’

NBC’s The Voice Season 24 will be here before fans know it, and Gwen Stefani rejoins as a coach in Blake Shelton’s absence. Many fans love to see Stefani take the stage, but she’s had many controversial moments in the past. At one point, she said she identified as both Japanese and Hispanic even though she doesn’t have ancestors from Japan or Spanish-speaking countries.

Gwen Stefani once said she identified as Japanese and Hispanic despite her actual heritage

The Voice Season 24 judge Gwen Stefani has taken a lot of heat in the past. Many of her fans thought she appropriated Japanese culture with her Harajuku Lovers brand, though she begs to differ. While speaking to Allure, she explained her love of Japanese culture and how she wanted to incorporate it into her music and products. And it all started with her father. Stefani’s father worked for Yamaha, requiring him to travel to Japan often. He would share stories of what he saw. When Stefani finally went to Japan in adulthood, she fell in love.

“That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic [with] so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me,” she told Allure. … “I said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it.'”

The interviewer noted there was a pause after that. “I am, you know,” Stefani continued before calling herself a “super fan” of the culture. At another point in the interview, Stefani reiterated that she’s “a little bit of an Orange County girl, a little bit of a Japanese girl, a little bit of an English girl.”

While Stefani claims her love and appreciation for Japanese culture make her Japanese to a certain degree, she also said the same about the Hispanic and Latinx communities. She grew up in Anaheim, California, and felt inspired by the other cultures around her. “The music, the way the girls wore their makeup, the clothes they wore, that was my identity,” she continued to Allure. “Even though I’m an Italian American — Irish or whatever mutt that I am — that’s who I became because those were my people, right?”

She’s set to rejoin ‘The Voice’ for season 24 despite past backlash

NBC’s The Voice still welcomes Gwen Stefani back as a coach despite the backlash she’s received for referring to herself as a member of the Japanese and Hispanic communities. And she’s in good company. The other three judges next season are Reba McEntire, John Legend, and Niall Horan.

Horan coached during season 23, but fans haven’t seen Legend and Stefani in awhile. And season 24 marks McEntire’s first time as a full-time coach. Early rumors suggest Stefani may take issue with McEntire, though. A source alleged to Radar Online that “Gwen is gunning for Reba” so McEntire “falls in line.”

The Voice Season 24 premieres in fall 2023.

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