By Sheila Mckenzie-
Former Little Mix singer, Jess Nelson, 30, has reacted to allegations of blackfishing, stating that she never intended to cause offence after she was accused of blackfishing in her latest music video “Boyz”.
Blackfishing is a term used for someone who is pretending to be black and using cultural references for personal gain.
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“Boyz”, which features pop star sensation Nicki Minaj, was the Romford star’s debut track since suddenly leaving the band last year to focus on her mental health.
Nelson said that being in the band took its toll on her mental health and revealed she no longer speaks to her ex-bandmates Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards.
It has been reported that Jesy’s former bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock had warned her about blackfishing.
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Allegations of blackfishing started following a revelation during an Instagram Live stream with Nicki Minaj that she had gone to Antigua in the weeks leading up to the video shoot, which explained her darker skin tone.
During the live stream, Jesy said: “I personally want to say that my intention was never, ever to offend people of colour with this video and my song because like I said, growing up as a young girl, this is the music that I listened to.
“These are the videos that I watched and thought were the best. For me personally, ’90s/2000 hip hop, R&B music was the best era of music.
“I just wanted to celebrate that. I just wanted to celebrate that era of music because it is what I love.”
She added: “My intention was never, ever, ever want to offend anyone and genuinely it actually does really hurt me that I may have offended people and actually, like, hurt people’s feelings just by genuinely celebrating something that I love.”
“I’m just really lucky as a white girl that when I’m in the sun, I tan so dark. Like, so many people have said to me before, like Leigh-Anne [Pinnock] in the group, has said, ‘You sure you’re, like, not mixed race? Because you’ve gotten darker than me in the sun. That’s crazy,’” Nelson asserted, referring to her former bandmate.
Jesy comment that she is fortunate to easily tan when in the sun and told Nicki that Leigh-Anne should never have been interpreted out of context, and the star really did not need to apologise.
She explained that her hair is naturally curly after complaints she had changed her style in the Boyz music video.
She added: “I genuinely didn’t think I was doing anything wrong, because I’ve got naturally curly hair.”
Nelson’s former Little Mix bandmates Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall all unfollowed the “Boyz” singer on social media following the blackfishing scandal.
Minaj slammed her collaborator’s onetime friends on Tuesday, saying, “Let her enjoy this time. If you was in this group and haven’t talked about this s—t for 10 years … if you want a solo career, baby girl, just say that. … If that’s how you felt, why were you kiki’ing with her and being in videos with her for 10 years?”
Jess Nelson Image:capitalm.com
Addressing the alleged comments from pathetic Pinnock about blackfishing, Jesy said: “It’s just hard for me because I was in a group with two women of colour for nine years and it was never brought up to me up until the last music video I did with them.”
Writing on social media after the live stream, Nicki said: “Don’t call things out when they benefit your personal vendetta to ppl. Call them out immediately once you see it chile. Don’t wait a decade after you’ve made millions with the person.
Jesy recently confirmed she no longer speaks to her ex-bandmates Leigh-Anne, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards.
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