Aussie influencer Sopha Dopha has been accused of cultural appropriation while on holiday in Japan.
Sophia Begg, the TikTok sensation with 1.4 million followers, had a blunder on Friday when she shared a series of photos from her first day in Tokyo on Instagram.
The 21-year-old uploaded her post with audio from the song Blueprint Supreme, which is performed in Mandarin by Chinese rapper SKAI ISYOURGOD.
Captioning the photo collection ‘Day one: Tokyo’, Sophia showcased moments with two friends as they enjoyed matcha, savored ramen, and posed for a photoshoot next to a vending machine.
Sophia wore pink shorts, an oversized white T-shirt emblazoned with the Japanese word Suki (好き), meaning ‘like’ or ‘love’, and a polka dot bandana.
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Sopha Dopha has been accused of cultural appropriation while on holiday in Japan
‘Day one: Tokyo,’ Sophia captioned the post, adding a string of emojis that included the Japanese flag and two sushi characters.
Fans were quick to point out the irony of the TikToker making travel content about Japan and overlaying it with a Chinese song.
‘Girl I love you, but please the song isn’t even in Japanese,’ the top comment on the post read.
‘I fear this song is Chinese,’ said another.
Others were more pointed in their remarks.
‘Looks good but it’s giving racism,’ one wrote, with another follower adding: ‘The casual racism is sending me LMAO.’
‘As an Asian woman, [I find] her using Japanese words as an aesthetic racist,’ they added in another comment.
‘She also seems to be unaware that the song she’s using isn’t Japanese, it’s Mandarin.’
The TikTok star, whose real name is Sophia Begg, made an embarrassing gaffe on Friday as she uploaded a carousel of pictures from her first day in Tokyo to Instagram
The 21-year-old uploaded her post with an audio from a song sung in Mandarin
‘Using Asian culture as an aesthetic is racism, period,’ they continued.
‘This honestly reflects white privilege on another level,’ yet another disappointed follower commented.
‘Being able to pick and choose parts of someone else’s culture for aesthetic without needing to understand or respect it.
‘Meanwhile, we as Asians grow up being shamed or mocked for these same things. It’s not just a song or a vibe, it’s a lived culture, and treating it like a trend is harmful.’
Sophia and her friends travelled from Australia to Japan on Thursday.
In less than 24 hours, she posted five TikToks about her travels, in addition to the controversial Instagram post.
‘We are in Japan, Tokyo and we are going to get ramen,’ she began in one video.
The Aussie influencer known as Sopha Dopha has prompted fierce online backlash after she posted a carousel of photos taken in Tokyo, Japan alongside a Chinese song to Instagram
‘I came here last year and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had,’ Sophia said.
‘We’re all starving. We haven’t eaten since Maccas in the airport 12 hours ago.’
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of culture or identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or without proper acknowledgement.
Such a controversy typically arises when members of a dominant culture borrow from minority cultures.
Sophia has not responded to the faux pas online.
