Avril Lavigne's not racist, you guys, she, like, totally has Japanese friends — or at least a Japanese director who helmed her controversy-courting music video for "Hello Kitty."
Despite reports, the "Hello Kitty" video was not pulled from YouTube — or rather, it was pulled and then reposted, allegedly because it went up ahead of schedule — and now Avril has taken to Twitter to defend the video.
Perhaps the Internet hate that has flared up over the video shouldn't be a surprise considering the song was co-written by Lavigne's much-hated husband, Nickleback's Chad Kroeger.
While there are certainly arguments to be made that Avril was using the Japanese back-up dancers as props, the singer is definitely genuine in her love for San Rio's famed Hello Kitty character.
"I love Hello Kitty, it's like an obsession," she said in a backstage interview at the MuchMusic Video Awards in June 2013. Though she did note the song's Kroegerian double-entendre. "It's about a slumber party and loving the kitty."
Oh, and here she is meeting Hello Kitty herself a few months later.
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