As the lead singer of '90s ska band No Doubt, Gwen Stefani positioned herself as an empowered woman speaking out about the double standards and unfair societal expectations women and girls face with songs like the feminist anthem "I'm Just A Girl" and more subtly in "Spiderwebs" and "Sunday Morning."
Her solo work like "What You Waiting For?" continued themes of frustration, identity, and breaking female stereotypes.
But Stefani has also faced criticism for being a "culture vulture" throughout her career.
A culture vulture is someone who "adopts and profits from the cultural practices of an often marginalized group without contributing to, educating themselves on, or appreciating the source culture." Stefani was called out for promoting harmful racial stereotypes and appropriating Japanese, Indian and Indigenous American culture.
While Stefani has continued to defend her use of Japanese and Hindu references and costuming, No Doubt issued a public apology and removed their music video—wherein Stefani dressed up like an Indigenous American—from websites and public circulation, calling the costuming choice insensitive and offensive.
Now Stefani has been accused of emulating the blond haired, giant cross wearing women of the Christian nationalist movement. Stefani is blond and has been sporting a giant cross, but is she really trying to be the next Karoline Leavitt, Erika Kirk, or Pam Bondi?
Stefani has been promoting Hallow, a pay-to-pray Catholic faith-based meditation app.
The app has received backlash for its financial backers, for commercializing the Catholic rite of prayer, and for the use of celebrity endorsements.
According to Vice, Hallow was funded by billionaire conservative political activist Peter Thiel and his hand groomed protégé JD Vance, whom Thiel and the Heritage Foundation had installed as MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Vice President. All of Trump's judicial appointments have also been from Heritage Foundation shortlists.
The Heritage Foundation—a conservative anti-LGBTQ+, anti-reproductive freedom, Christian nationalist think tank—also crafted the racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic Project 2025 that the Trump administration is following.
Hallow CEO and co-founder Alex Jones—not the InfoWars one—said in a 2023 statement:
"I’d want to start by saying that Hallow stands proudly and unequivocally in support of all Catholic Church teaching, especially the pro-life stance of the Church and the USCCB's affirmation of the end of abortion as the preeminent priority."
Being linked to any of those entities might be popular within the MAGAsphere and their Christian nationalist, White supremacist movement, but that hasn't been Stefani's fan base for most of her career.
After Stefani posted a paid-partnership video for Hallow on Instagram, both friends and fans called her out for promoting an app that is against reproductive freedom and affiliated with a rogues gallery of bigots and oppressors.
In the ad, Stefani said:
"It is important this holiday season to spend time in prayer. That is what Christmas is all about, letting God into our hearts and letting Jesus bring us his peace."
The Hallow ads seem to gloss over the fact that people will need to pay for the privilege of praying.
A video posted by makeup artist and activist Matt Bernstein calling out Stefani was liked by actors Olivia Cooke, Julia Fox, Melanie Lynskey, Busy Philipps, Ava Phillippe, and Queer Eye host and hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness.
Bernstein quoted some of Stefani's lyrics, as did many in the comments on both videos, and the hashtags #DONTSPEAK and #GwenDONTSPEAK trended across social media.
While some positive comments appeared on Stefani's Hallow app ad...
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...most were negative.
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Some focused on the pay-to-pray predatory nature of such apps.
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Others focused on who profited and the agenda the app proudly promotes.
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Some saw a pattern of behavior.
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Stefani has yet to publicly respond to the backlash.
Other celebrity supporters of Hallow include actors Chris Pratt, Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the streaming series The Chosen.
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