Bruno Mars' mixed race comes from the Philippines on his mother's side and his father, who is half Puerto Rican, half Ashkenazi Jewish, according to CNN. Unfortunately, Mars remembers sticking out as a child because of his ethnicity. "Growing up in Hawaii, there are not too many Puerto Ricans there, so because of my hair, they thought I was Black and white," he told Latina Magazine. He went on to explain that while some may think it can be beneficial to have an ambiguous heritage, this is missing the point of the real experiences of minorities. "I hope people of color can look at me, and they know that everything they're going through, I went through," Mars added.
The star still later faced criticism because some felt he was ripping off other artists through cultural appropriation. "You can't find an interview where I am not talking about the entertainers that have come before me," Mars told "The Breakfast Club" when asked about this, adding that all of his success could be attributed to iconic artists like James Brown, Prince, Bobby Brown, and Michael Jackson. As a result, Mars said his "music comes from love. If you can't hear that, then I don't know what to tell you."
A paparazzo once asked R&B legend Stevie Wonder what he thought about claims that Mars was using cultural appropriation in his music. "He's a great talent, so the other stuff is just bulls***," Wonder told TMZ.
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