No Doubt Pull Music Video over Accusations of Racism

BY Josiah HughesPublished Nov 4, 2012

After returning with Push and Shove earlier this year, '90s ska crossover act No Doubt have been unloading a steady stream of promotional materials. Their latest music video for the track "Looking Hot," however, drew some ire for its perceived cultural insensitivity towards Native Americans.

The clip, which is no longer available to be viewed online, showcased frontwoman Gwen Stefani performing the song in stereotypical Native American garb from the Old West.

While that sort of dubious appropriation is commonplace on the Tumblrs of myriad young women, there are still many questions that need to be asked about such arguably insensitive imagery.

After receiving a great deal of complaints, the band decided to pull the video from the web, offering up the following statement on their official site:

As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history. Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people. This is of great concern to us and we are removing the video immediately. The music that inspired us when we started the band, and the community of friends, family, and fans that surrounds us was built upon respect, unity and inclusiveness. We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video. Being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are.
- No Doubt


The much less potentially offensive video for "Push and Shove" is available to stream below.

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