What’s up?
It’s Emile Ennis Jr. here with Clevver News and Normani showed her support for Little
Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock after she opened up about her struggles in Little Mix due to
the color of her skin.
Leigh-Anne has been outspoken about how she felt like the quote “least favored” member
of Little Mix because of her race.
Last month, Leigh-Anne spoke out on a British show called “Keep Reading and Carry On”
about how she felt “overlooked” in the band due to the color of her skin.
And since the tragic and wrongful death of George Floyd, amid the global protests, Leigh-Anne
has been using her platform to continue to speak out about racial inequalities.
She’s shared multiple posts and resources with her fans.
But she also sat down and spoke to her followers directly about her experiences with racism
in a powerful video.
Leigh-Anne captioned the video saying quote, “More than ever I felt like it was time
that I was completely open and honest with you all because finally, the world is awake
and people want to listen, help and understand.
I’m doing it because enough is enough and hopefully from sharing this we can all do
more to understand the racism that takes place.
… All we want is equality and justice for our black community.”
And in her video, Leigh-Anne detailed specific experiences where she dealt with racism when
starting out in Little Mix.
And many celebs and fans took to the comments to show their support for Leigh-Anne in sharing
her experiences.
Her Little Mix bandmate Jade Thirlwall wrote quote, “my sister.
proud of you.”
Ally Brooke wrote quote, “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH LEIGH.
you are incredible!!!!”
And fellow British singer, Ray BLK, said quote, “Sis sis sis.
SOOOO proud of you for using your voice.
I relate to this SOOO much it makes me sad.
We love you & will protect you.”
But one comment that caught many fans' eyes was Normani’s.
We all know Normani got her start in the girl group, Fifth Harmony, and has also been outspoken
about her experiences with racism being part of the group.
She commented on Leigh-Anne’s video saying quote, “I am YOU and you are ME, I see you
sis!!!”
To which, Leigh-Anne responded saying quote, “This is why I’ve always felt a connection
to you.
Always here for you sis.
Xx”
Both of their comments got thousands of likes and support from fans.
These supportive comments come just a few weeks after Little Mix revealed that there
was a rivalry between themselves and Fifth Harmony back in the day.
During an interview with BuzzFeed, the ladies of Little Mix revealed that there was some
rivalry when they were all on the same label after X Factor.
And
Jade chimed in adding that they loved the girls of Fifth Harmony, but it was just a
bit weird and competitive to have another girl group on their same label, Simon Cowell's
Syco Music.
But it’s clear that the rivalry is just a thing of the past and that these two girl
groups, both present and former, have each other’s backs.
Ok, so back to Leigh-Anne’s video…
Even when discussing her struggles, she acknowledged her privilege being biracial saying quote,
“My reality is all the times that I have felt invisible in my group but part of me
is fully aware that my experience would be even harder to cope with had I been dark-skinned.”
And she concluded her video saying quote, “I’m not doing this video for sympathy
or for you to watch and then go about normal life.
I’m doing it because enough is enough and hopefully from sharing this we can all do
more to understand the racism that takes place.
In doing this, we are able to approach the bigger issue and break down systemic racism.
All we want is equality and justice for our black community.”
And we couldn’t agree more.
Here at Clevver we want to make it clear that we stand with our black co-workers, friends,
viewers, and everyone else impacted in this fight for change.
And if you wanted to get involved, we’ve linked resources down in the description below
with ways to contribute to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Also, please take a moment and click right over here to watch this video to know why
the Black Lives Matter movement is so important to us here at Clevver.
And please share your thoughts about Leigh-Anne’s video and Normani’s response in the comments
below.
I’m your host, Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!