Avril Lavigne responds to the growing backlash over her controversial Hello Kitty music video.
Avril Lavigne is laughing off claims that her new music video for her single Hello Kitty is racist.
The music video in question features the Canadian pop star dressed in a loud cupcake tutu and flanked by four Japanese women as they troll through Tokyo, drinking sake, eating sushi and visiting a candy store.
Video: Avril Lavigne Talks Marriage & Music
Billboard slammed the video for its "Japan fetishization" and called the “gloriously ghastly” video "an embarrassment in any language."
Avril responded to the growing criticism Wednesday.
RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video…
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) April 24, 2014…specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan.
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) April 24, 2014But the track has been heavily criticized not just for its music video, but for the seemingly juvenile lyrical content, including the lyrics, "Let's all slumber party, Like a fat kid on a pack of Smarties."
Lavigne is 29 years old.
Video: How Well Does Avril Lavigne Know Nickelback?
Check out the video below and weigh in. Do you find Hello Kitty offensive?