What Is 'Asian Fishing'? Ariana Grande Stirs Controversy With Photoshoot

What is Asian fishing? Singing sensation Ariana Grande is in a soup over a recent photoshoot she did, which has been accused by netizens and fans of cultural appropriation. Snaps of the shoot, which she reportedly posted and then deleted after backlash earlier this week, have gone viral on the internet.

An American singer without Asian roots, Grande is being called out online and is yet to address the accusations. The sets of photos, as they still exist on photographer and creative director Katia Temkin's Instagram profile, show Grande in multiple looks, including one where her makeup appears to have been done in a way to liken her to an Asian person.

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'Asian fishing' thus refers to the use of symbols, especially stereotypical ones, by people not belonging to that ethnicity or race for personal gains or without due respect or acknowledgment. The thank u, next singer has previously been accused of 'Black fishing' as well.

Grande is not the first star to be accused of cultural appropriation, with a long string of celebrities having faced similar outrage. Last year, singer Adele was widely criticised for attending a carnival wearing a bikini fashioned out of the Jamaican flag with traditional Bantu knots in her hair. Read here.

Coldplay and Beyonce also sparked debate back in 2016 when their Hymn For The Weekend video, shot in India, featured the latter artist in Indian clothes and jewellery. While many raised the subject of colonial undertones with Americans depicting 'Indian-ness,' several came to the defence of the celebrities, claiming that borrowing clothes from a culture against a context that wholly credits it does not qualify for appropriation.

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The internet is similarly debating the ethicality of Grande's photos, with some deeming them racist and others not finding fault with them. "editing photos of Ariana Grande to make her look black or asian is very racist behavior," one Twitter user wrote. "Ariana Grande really said "ok fine I'm done pretending to be Hispanic, I'll pretend to be Asian this time"," wrote another. "damn ariana grande collects races like infinity stones... was dressing up as black and latina not enough, now she's gonna try on being asian?" one tweet read.

Those who stood on the other side of the argument said, "if you look at ariana grande and see an asian person, YOU are the problem. not only are u incredibly stupid, you’re straight up racist and don’t know how makeup works" and "Using makeup and fashion trends that are popular in another country doesnt make you X-fishing."

Asian fishing is largely predominant on the internet through makeup and photo-editing features. The trend has reportedly become more popular in the wake of the rise in K-pop fans globally. Facial features are usually retouched for the purpose of making a non-Asian person appear Asian.