Ariana Grande accused of cultural appropriation by speaking with a 'blaccent'

Some have claimed that the singer is trying to mimic the way in which a black woman would speak

Accusations that Ariana Grande has been imitating black people by speaking with a “blaccent” have sparked an online debate, with many people rushing to the "Thank U, Next" singer’s defence.

The allegations arose online following a recent interview with Grande conducted by Billboard, in which she spoke about a variety of childhood photos.

While looking at a photo of herself as a toddler eating a cookie, she said: "I'm like b***h, that's my cookie, that's my juice, okay. Carry on. Thank you next, that's what this baby picture says."

Some have claimed that Grande was deliberately trying to sound like a black woman during the interview, and have criticised her for committing cultural appropriation by doing so.

"Her voice goes from normal to trying to imitate a black woman," one person tweeted in response to the video.

"Why is she trying to sound like Beyoncé," another person wrote.

A "blaccent", as defined by Wiktionary, is an accent that is "characteristic of African-Americans".

This isn't the first time that the star has been accused of cultural appropriation, with some saying that she purposely tans her skin to look especially dark.

A number of social media influencers have recently come under fire for "blackfishing", which involves using makeup, hair products and, in some cases, surgery to drastically change their appearance.

"Ariana Grande has fake tanned her skin to the extreme, enlarged her lips, and fakes a stereotyping blaccent," one person wrote in a tweet that's garnered more than 3,000 likes.

"Cultural appropriation is the exploitation of non-white cultures. It isn't literally claiming to be a different race.

"Face it - she's a white woman in brown/blackface."

Numerous people have been defending Grande, with many stating that there is no truth to the "blaccent" accusations.

Many have also highlighted the fact that Grande's voice has been the same ever since her days as a teen Nickelodeon star on TV series Victorious.

"Y'all really grasping for straws trying to make her look bad. Oh well," one person tweeted.

"Why would she try to imitate a black woman? Like y'all are just hating to hate at this point. Please come up with something else. Something better," another person wrote.

Some people have pointed out the fact that the allegations have made sweeping generalisations about the way in which black women speak.

"So are you implying that that's what black women should sound like, lmfao that's so pathetic," someone wrote on Twitter.

"None of the women in my family nor any of my black women friends sound like that, thank u next."