Avril Lavigne has hit back at accusations of racism regarding her new music video Hello Kitty.

The Canadian singer's video for her latest single features her singing in both English and Japanese as she performs with four Japanese backing dancers.

Avril is seen with blonde hair with rainbow stripes and an shaved undercut on one side, wearing a PVC bustier, pearls and a colourful, kitsch tutu covered in cup cakes. She dances in a range of kitsch shops, watches a chef make sushi while she drinks sake, and takes pictures of her backing dancers with a retro camera.

Since being posted on Youtube the video has received over 2,700 "Dislikes" with comments claiming the portrayal of Japanese culture in that way is racist.

But it has also received over 15,500 "Likes" with many fans jumping to her defence.

Avril tweeted: "RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video...

"...specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan."