Leigh-Anne Pinnock has opened up about the “dangerous” side of fame.
The singer rose to fame back in 2011, after winning X Factor with her band Little Mix alongside Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent’s Life Magazine, Leigh-Anne admitted that that negative comments that come with fame can be “really dangerous”.
“The negative comments they really hit hard,” she explained.
“It was just really hard to not listen to them and really hard not to worry about it all the time. But now, I just think, it is what it is.
“We used to look for it,” Leigh-Anne admitted, “I remember looking for the negativity. But I would never do something like that now.
“It was like looking for validation, which is dangerous. Really dangerous, because it just affects your everyday life, everything you do.”
“I feel like we’ve all come a long way. When I go on stage now, I’m not worried about hitting that note. I’m not worried about what people are going to say after,” she added.
“Because I’m, like, ‘I’m the sh*t and I know it, so I’m just going to do what I’ve got to do. It’s been a long journey.”
“Everyone is going to have an opinion on you. That’s the main thing, because it’s so daunting. It’s so overwhelming to see people you don’t know talk about you all over Twitter and things like that. It’s crazy.
“Never let anyone stop the belief you have in yourself. Never let anyone tell you or criticise your ability when you are here for a reason, if that makes sense.”
The news comes after a spokesperson for Little Mix confirmed that Jesy Nelson would be taking an “extended break” from the band.
In a statement last week, they said: “Jesy is having extended time off from Little Mix for private medical reasons.”
“We will not be issuing any further comment currently and ask media to please respect her privacy at this time,” they added.
