You know her- it's Ariana Grande, a 25-year-old pop and R&B singer. Recently, Ariana also won a Grammy award, and she's taking the world by a storm. Her Instagram is filled with vague, dreamy pictures and she often tweets appreciative messages to her fans. A couple of my friends adore her and her music, and even look up to her for style inspiration. 

Just like other big celebrities, Ariana has had some bumps in the road. A prime example was her hand tattoo, which she had wanted to say '7 rings' in Japanese, as a reference to her hit single. Eventually, fans caught on and pointed out that she had left out some characters. The tattoo actually meant "small barbecue grill" in Japanese. It's unfortunate on her part, but it is not uncommon for people to use random kanji for aesthetic purposes. Ariana later responded with a tweet saying that she left out the two letters of the four because the tattoo was so painful.

Online debates have sparked about whether Ariana is blackfishing, which is when influencers use makeup and hair products to "cosplay" as black women. If you look back at her days acting as Cat in Nickelodeon's show, Victorious, you can see that Ariana is naturally quite pale. Nowadays, she is often olive or brown toned in her pictures. She is also under fire for trying to have a "blaccent," in which she constantly uses colloquialisms that are coined by the black community. 

Personally, I cannot separate an artist from their art. I do not want to support someone who's values I don't agree with. Is Ariana Grande wrong for using her influence and platform to get away with casual appropriation? Yes. But is she harming anyone? No. I don't have to love Ariana, and I don't have to listen to her songs.