Ariana Grande has been accused of 'Asian-fishing' after posting a series of photos on social media.
The 28-year-old singer has since deleted the pictures - in which she poses with winged-eye liner, red lipstick, and slicked-back dark hair.
'Asian-fishing' is a term derived from 'Blackfishing', a word first used in 2018 by Candian journalist Wanna Thompson to refer to appropriating another's racial background, usually through adopting their physical look.
Many TikTok users pointed out how in the images - taken by New York-based photographer Katia Temkin - Grande's makeup and outfit seemingly emulated the K-pop look of Korean stars.
"It's a combination of the innocent posing, the little bows and s***. Even the color of her lipstick," said TikTok user kuzumi.n in a video slamming the singer.
She then compared Grande to a stereotypical image of a K-pop star, saying the two looked "a little too similar, especially considering that Ariana Grande is a white woman."
This isn't the first time the singer has come under fire for cultural appropriation.
Over the years she has been accused of 'Blackfishing', with many noting how her tanned skin tone is much darker than the naturally pale look she sported on Nickelodeon's Victorious as a teenage actor.
In a clip critiquing the controversial photoshoot, TikTok user VictoriaAlxndr said: "I'm not saying that Ariana Grande has moved on from Blackfishing to Asian-fishing, but I am saying that it took me longer than expected to realize that this is her."
"Just an observation," she added.
Despite fans rushing to defend her, Grande deleted the photos from her Instagram following the backlash.
Many TikTok users commented on how radically her look had changed over time and mocked fans for their weak excuses.
"'She's naturally tan', 'she's naturally pale', which one is it," commented one user.
Another tweeted contrasting pictures of Grande and joked that she had mastered "four races".
Meanwhile, a lot of people noted that the pop star was changing her look to fit whichever racial stereotypes were 'trending'.
"Ariana Grande rebranding as asian makes perfect sense when you realize she got the tan at the height of reggaeton and latin pop crossover and now K-pop is the new hotness," wrote one person on Twitter.
"Ariana Grande woke up one day and was like '"I wanna be Squid Game,'" added another, referencing the smash hit show set in South Korea, which in October became Netflix's most-watched TV series.
