Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall has spoken for the first time on her personal battles surrounding her race growing up and after catapulting to fame.
The Break-Up Song hitmaker revealed that she refused to discuss her mixed-race background as she feared that she may not be “as popular”.
Jade, 27, has grandparents from Yemen and Egypt, while her dad is white.
Speaking on the BBC’s No Country For Young Women podcast Jade admitted that she had previously felt “ashamed” of her background but now realises that she had been uneducated in issues surrounding race.
In a heartbreaking admission, Jade went on to reveal that while she was in school, she was bullied because of the colour of her skin.
Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall has opened up about her struggles around her race (Image: PA)
She said: “I think because I was bullied quite badly in school because of the colour of my skin and for being Arab I wasn’t very proud of who I was.
“I think when I then entered the group [Little Mix] I subconsciously didn’t want to talk about my heritage or what my background was in fear of not being as popular, which sounds awful to say but I was only 18 years old and through years of being ashamed of who I was I found it quite hard to talk about it.”
Opening up about her childhood she continued: “Where I am from if you weren’t evidently black you were literally put in a bracket of being called the p-word.
The songstress feared speaking up about her race due to feeling as though she wouldn’t be “as popular” (Image: John Phillips/Getty Images)
“When I was at school if I was ever bullied for the colour 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.”
Jade revealed that while in school, white powder was used to “whiten” her (Image: jadethirlwall/Instagram)
Discussing her time in high school, Jade added: “I used to be in an amateur operatic society, they would literally put white powder on my face to whiten me on stage.
“Even now me and my mum will talk about it and we’ll be like, ‘That was f***ing mental’.”
No Country For Young Women is available now on BBC Sounds.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
