Kyle Richards Defends Gwen Stefani Amid Backlash Over 'I'm Japanese' Remark

Gwen Stefani found a supporter in Kyle Richards as the singer faced backlash over her controversial statements about being Japanese.

Stefani, 53, raised eyebrows after claiming in an interview with Allure published Tuesday that she's "Japanese" despite being born to Italian American and Irish American parents. She was immediately called out on social media, with some accusing her of appropriation.

But Richards came to Stefani's defense in her reply to an Instagram post Wednesday reporting the story about the No Doubt singer.

"Everyone can't wait to be offended by something," the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star commented on the post.

Some fans and Instagram users agreed with the reality star and sided with Stefani.

"@kylerichards18 exactly, this world has gone mad!" one commented. Another user wrote, "[You are] so right! It's getting ridiculous!!!!"

"[The] media makes it that way. Nobody is actually offended. I'm sure they just make it seem that way," a third person suggested.

"Oh my goodness, yes, and I'm so tired of it!" a different commenter wrote.

However, others slammed Richards for publicly expressing support for Stefani amid the accusations of cultural appropriation against the singer. Cultural appropriation or cultural misappropriation occurs "when a person from one culture adopts the fashion, iconography, trends or styles from a culture that's not their own," according to Good Housekeeping.

"Of course you who have shown such ignorance towards your castmates Crystal and Garcelle would find no problem with a white Italian woman claiming to be Japanese. You disgust me," one person wrote, referring to Richards' "RHOBH" co-stars Crystal Kung Minkoff and Garcelle Beauvais.

"[Kyle Richards], saying you identify as Japanese when you're not is weird," a second critic wrote.

A third person added, "So funny you just commented this...I am currently watching a Season 4 episode where [Carlton Gebbia] is offended by everything you say. Just looking for issues to create issues."

"[Kyle Richards], you don't get it. It's so infuriating and actually makes you look unintelligent," another commenter wrote. "You don't get to decide what offends people, particularly racialized people. Commodification and capitalization of a culture is appropriation. It is literally not hard. This is what moronic old, out-of-touch people say."

On Tuesday, Stefani repeatedly claimed that she's "Japanese" in her interview with Allure while addressing the longstanding accusations that she appropriated Japan's Harajuku subculture and simply used it as a marketing tool.

While looking back on her work inspired by the Harajuku subculture, including her 2004 album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby.," its track "Harajuku Girls" and her 2008 fragrance line Harajuku Lovers, Stefani told Allure that her father had traveled between their home in California and Japan for 18 years for work and would tell her stories about the vibrant streets of Harajuku.

She then explained that she visited the district of Harajuku herself and realized she's apparently Japanese.

"I said, 'My God, I'm Japanese and I didn't know it,'" Stefani told the interviewer, who is actually Asian. "I am, you know."

The "Rich Girl" singer then defended tapping into other cultures for inspiration.

"If [people are] going to criticize me for being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that, then I just think that doesn't feel right," she explained. "I think it was a beautiful time of creativity... a time of the ping-pong match between Harajuku culture and American culture. [It] should be OK to be inspired by other cultures because if we're not allowed then that's dividing people, right?"