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Leigh-Anne Pinnock admits she feels like the ‘least favoured’ member of Little Mix in heartbreaking speech about racism

The singer has spoken out about the Black Lives Matter movement

Leigh-Anne Pinnock has admitted she feels like the “least favoured” member of Little Mix in a heartbreaking speech about racism.

Taking to Instagram, the singer posted an emotional video addressing the Black Lives Matter movement – following the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody last week.

In the video, Leigh-Anne recalled the moment choreographer Frank Gatson Jr told her she would have to “work 10 times harder” in the band – because of the colour of her skin.

“He said to me, ‘You are the black girl. You have to work 10 times harder.’ Never in my life had someone told me that I would need to work harder because of my race,” she said.

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“Later on, what Frank Gatson said made sense. I learned that the dream of being in the biggest girl band in the world came with its flaws and consequences. Consequences such as knowing about the existent underlying racism in the creative industries.”

“You learn to understand you can’t be seen to be too loud, too opinionated – otherwise you’re deemed a ‘diva’ or ‘too aggressive’, you learn that by walking into a room – you are deemed ‘unapproachable’ or ‘offish’ before anyone has even approached you.”

“You learn that voicing your opinion about the lack of diversity within the industry is like smashing your head against a brick wall.”

“So at events, ceremonies, you learn to take great comfort from rare moments when you meet black creatives who understand this feeling. So for that moment the dream is alive, and then just like that – reality hits you.”

 

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Like many of you, I have been feeling really heavy with everything that we are seeing online and hearing on the news. In the past I have mentioned some personal experiences that were triggered due to my race. 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 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. ????

A post shared by Leigh-Anne Pinnock (@leighannepinnock) on

Through tears, Leigh-Anne said: “My reality was feeling lonely while touring to predominantly white countries. I sing to fans who don’t see me or hear me or cheer me on.”

“My reality is feeling anxious before fan events and signings because I always feel like I’m the least favoured. My constant reality is constantly feeling like I have to work 10 times harder and longer to mark my place in the group because my talent alone isn’t enough.”

She continued, “My reality is wanting to see other artists who I know are so talented but will never get the opportunities I have had because to the industry, they are not marketable.”

“But they will get behind someone else with aspects of black culture the world wants to see but leave behind the aspects they feel make me unmarketable.”

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“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.”

Concluding her speech, Leigh-Anne said: “We are no longer in a position where we need to be quiet on this matter. Let’s all continue to speak up on racism and keep this movement going.”

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