What’s up?
It’s Emile Ennis Jr. here with Clevver News and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall just opened
up about why she never talked about her race after joining Little Mix on the X Factor back
in 2011.
Amidst all the important conversations surrounding racial inequalities and the Black Lives Matter
movement, Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall admitted that she avoided talking about her race when
she first found fame because she feared she quote 'wouldn't be as popular.'
During a recent appearance on the “No Country For Young Women” podcast Jade opened up
about her mixed race heritage and how she hasn’t always been outspoken about her background.
Jade revealed that her maternal grandfather is from Yemen and her maternal grandmother
is from Egypt, while her father is white.
And this heritage led to some bullying when she was a kid, which furthermore led to her
not wanting to speak out about her background when first joining Little Mix.
She talked about some of the specific horrific racism she faced at school.
Jade said quote, “When I was at school if I was ever bullied for the color of my skin
I’d get so confused as I’d be like, well I’m not from Pakistan.
I remember one time I got pinned down in the toilets and they put a bindi spot on my forehead,
it was horrific.”
She went on and said quote, “When I went to secondary school I was literally one of
three people of color in the school.
It was a very predominately white Catholic school.
I went through a lot in the first two years of secondary school.
... In hindsight I probably would have just rather gone to school where I would fit in
more.
I have constantly had this inner battle of not really having who I am or where I fit
in or what community I fit into.”
And it wasn’t just bullying that Jade encountered while growing up, she revealed some of the
racism she faced back when she was doing Amateur theater.
And looking back, Jade admitted that she has some regrets about it taking her so long to
embrace her heritage.
And even now Jade admitted that she is still growing and learning about what she hadn’t
educated herself on in the past.
She said quote, “I think it was through a lack of education as well.
Even now I am constantly learning what the right things are to say and I would hate to
talk about my race and my heritage and not say the right things.”
Jade also spoke about her fellow Little Mix member, Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
Leigh-Anne is also mixed race and has been outspoken about her racial struggles when
joining Little Mix.
Last month she spoke on a new British show called “Keep Reading and Carry On” about
how she felt “overlooked” in the band due to the color of her skin.
And the book she’s speaking about that really helped her is called “Why I’m No Longer
Talking To White People About Race” by Rene Eddo-Lodge.
In case you are looking for ways to educate yourself and learn about racial inequalities,
this book is a great place to start and it’s available on Amazon.
And Little Mix overall has been outspoken during this movement making their stance clear
and giving their fans resources to get involved and donate.
And here at Clevver, we also want to make it clear that we stand with our black co-workers,
friends, and viewers in this fight for change.
We’ve linked some resources and places to donate down in the description below and we
will continue to cover these stories and have these conversations because this is only just
the beginning.
Please take a moment and click right over here to watch this video to know why this
issue is so important to us here at Clevver.
Feel free to keep the conversation going down in the comments below and share your thoughts
on what both Jade and Leigh-Anne had to say.
I’m your host, Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!