Woke social media comes for superstar Ariana Grande for racially ambiguous 'Asianfishing'

Pop superstar Ariana Grande is under fire for recent photos in which some social media users say she looks intentionally Asian.

Asianfishing is similar to blackfishing, in which a person co-opts another race or ethnicity for profit or positive attention and without having to experience any discrimination or racism that may come with such identities.

Grande has previously announced that she is of Italian-American descent.

What are the details?

Photos of Grande's new look initially went viral on Reddit in a post titled "Not blackfishing but Ariana Grande asian-fishing?"

The poster, teddyccino, complained, "Am I the only one who’s uncomfortable with the way in which Ari has altered her face? ... Every celeb has had plastic surgery, but there’s something about Ari’s that doesn’t sit right with me lately. The overzealous eyebrow lift in which she’s actually changed the shape of her eyebrows from arched (as you can see in the picture I’ve linked) to straight, as is popular in East Asia. The way she takes pictures from certain angles (low) or wears makeup in a way that will conceal her eyelids, creating a mono lid look, it also makes her eyes appear less round and narrower. The way she’s so tiny and petite now, which is a stereotype of East Asian women, and not to mention her cutesy submissive innocent 'sex kitten' persona, once again a fetishization of East Asian women."

What was the response?

On Reddit, one user responded, "I’ve noticed this lately too, it’s like she got so much black fishing hate that she decided to switch to Asianfishing. It definitely looks like she got the eye lifting surgery and/or uses makeup to create the shape of an Asian person’s eyes. It’s annoying, I don’t see why she can’t just be herself."

Another Redditor added, "She spent years capitalizing on the images of other races. When she first hit the radio (I didn't know her from Disney, too old) I thought she was latinx heritage. Then she gradually morphed into a black or mixed facade and I was like WTF. Now this. K pop is the new wave, J pop hasn't quite gained as much traction, but either way she's just latching into a new identity. I don't understand how anyone thinks this is ok."

One Twitter user wrote, "Ariana Grande hijacking Korean aesthetic is F***IN’ WEIRD and class A #asianfishing and idgaf how good the chick sings, this doesn’t get a pass[.]"

Another added, "Ari's done w blackfishing, she's asianfishing now[.]"

"Ariana Grande is giving lightskins going from summer to winter went straight from blackfishing to asianfishing," another user wrote, using crying face emojis.

Anything else?

Oli London, a reality star from the U.K., defended Grande's look on social media and tweeted, "If Ariana wants to look Asian, let her be[.]"

London, notable for his plastic surgery geared to resemble the Korean aesthetic, previously added, "I'm so in love with @ArianaGrande new Asian look. It looks so cute and oriental. Welcome to the TRANSRACIAL club Ari, so happy to have you join me. Can we become the King & Queen of Korea together already?"