Gwen Stefani reintroduced herself Wednesday in a wide-ranging interview, from clarifying her political affiliations to addressing her past controversies.
Speaking with Paper magazine, the “Slow Clap” singer didn’t shy away from the tough subjects, even when her relationship with Blake Shelton was brought up when discussing his previous rumored support of former President Donald Trump.
When asked if her fiance’s political views influenced hers, said Stefani, 51, “I can see how people would be curious, but I think it’s pretty obvious who I am.”
“I’ve been around forever. I started my band because we were really influenced by ska, which was a movement that happened in the late ’70s, and it was really all about people coming together,” the three-time Grammy winner remarked. “The first song I ever wrote was a song called ‘Different People,’ which was on the Obama playlist, you know, a song about everyone being different and being the same and loving each other.”
That led to her discussing her past controversies, where she was accused of cultural appropriation for wearing bindis and saris on stage and at award ceremonies.
“If we didn’t buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn’t have so much beauty, you know? We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other,” Stefani remarked — noting that her celebrating Hindu culture was in honor of No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, who is the son of Indian immigrants.
“All these rules are just dividing us more and more,” the “Cool” singer maintained.
Added Stefani “I think that we grew up in a time where we didn’t have so many rules. We didn’t have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had so much more freedom.”
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