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    Ariana Grande Has Responded To Accusations That She Appropriated Japanese Culture

    "There is a difference between appropriation and appreciation."

    By now we should all be well-versed in the tale of Ariana Grande and her tattoo dedicated to a tiny Japanese BBQ, but if you aren't, allow me to explain it to you quickly.

    Last week, Ariana unveiled a new tattoo that supposedly read "7 Rings" in Japanese Kanji, the language that appeared in the music video for her song of the same name.

    At first, Ari had a pretty good sense of humour about the whole thing. When TMZ dragged her for her inability to grasp the Japanese language, she replied that she would "shake [their] hand if [she] could".

    @TMZ touché 🥺🖤 i’d shake ur hand rn if i could

    But others didn't find the situation so funny. Several people called her out for exploiting Japanese culture, saying she shouldn't use a language she doesn't understand purely for the "aesthetic".

    not dragging anyone just here thinking about how ppl think ariana using japanese culture for the aesthetic is great but when it comes to actual asian singers ppl are gross and xenophobic

    ariana using east-asian culture as part of her ~aesthetic~ without having a. any asians in her 7 rings mv, b. acknowledging the PURPOSE of japanese in her tweets/music promo, c. ignoring this criticism when she is active on twitter is very very Questionable 2 say the least

    And over the weekend, in a series of now-deleted tweets, Ariana first apologised and then hit back at people accusing her of cultural appropriation.

    "I can't read or write Kanji obviously," she wrote in response to a person who said she should apologise for the mistake. "What do you want me to do? It was done out of love and appreciation. What do you want me to say?"

    She went on to say that while other people in similar situations wouldn't apologise, because they liked how the tattoo looked, she at least attempted to rectify the mistake.

    "There is a difference between appropriation and appreciation," she continued, before pointing out that all of the items featuring Japanese Kanji had been removed from her merch store.

    "People on this app really don't know how to be forgiving or gentle when someone has made an innocent mistake," she wrote in another deleted tweet, which pointed out that she deals with "crippling anxiety".

    Some people weren't happy that Ariana brought up her anxiety, accusing her of playing the victim, and said she shouldn't have deleted the apology tweets in the first place.

    why doesn’t ariana just simply apologize lmfao is it that hard instead she just victimizes herself with her crippling anxiety

    ariana literally could have just said okay and left. but no once again the white woman is the victim whilst the POC are suppressing her from doing something she loves. this is a tired narrative. you. are. not. the. victim. in. this. situation.

    like ariana just had to say she fucked up and she was sorry but she keeps going back and forth and trying to make herself seem like a victim and trying to make ppl feel bad bc she’s sensitive but like??? it didnt need to be like this

    Others defended Ariana, praising her for speaking up and attempting to fix the situation in the first place.

    ‘ariana only notices the negative and nothing positive we’re all saying’ how r yall gonna make this about you 😭 the girl has anxiety of course she’s gonna try her best to sort out a negative thing that’s making her worry please be quiet

    also, y’all needa chill. ariana did NOTHING wrong. the girl made a mistake like we all do! and the thing that makes me so sad is that she has anxiety and i have it too so i know that it sucks ass. she’s probably feeling so overwhelmed right now and i just want her to be happy.

    I’ve never known anyone as genuine as Ariana who only ever has good intentions and does everything she possibly can to make others happy before herself to get this much hate over the most pointless things that are innocent mistakes and has apologised for multiple times?

    And a lot of people just want everyone to give Ariana a break.

    ya’ll are CONSTANTLY preaching mental health but when it comes to ariana ya’ll don’t care at all. it’s sad. leave her alone. after these past couple years do u not think she deserves a damn break? bc she really does. more than anything. give her love. period.

    it’s 2019 and people still want to come for ariana I mean really for just practically breathing? please, give her a break. she’s been thru so much. she’s human like all of us too.

    But, through all the drama, there's still one tweet that hasn't been deleted.

    BuzzFeed has reached out to representatives of Ariana Grande for further comment.