Jesy Nelson.Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage
Jesy Nelsonis addressing theblackfishingaccusations she’s faced following her debut solo single “Boyz” withNicki Minaj.
Appearing on Instagram Live with Minaj — who defended Nelson and seemingly slammed Nelson’s former bandmates — Nelson addressed the controversy and said that she never intended to offend anyone with her music video.
“I personally want to say that my intention was never ever to offend people of color with this video and my song because like I said, growing up as a young girl, this is the music that I listened to,” Nelson, 30, said. “These are the videos that I watched and thought were the best. For me personally, ’90s R&B were the best years in music. I just wanted to celebrate that. I just want to celebrate that era of music is what I love.”
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“I’m just really lucky as a white girl that when I’m in the sun, I tan so dark like, so many people have said to me before like Leigh-Anne [Pinnock] in the group has said, ‘You sure you’re like not mixed-race because you’ve got darker than me in the sun. That’s crazy,'” Nelson claimed, referring to her former bandmate. “I wanted to come on this live today as well and show everyone my hair is naturally curly. I’ve always had curly hair. I got it from my dad.”
“I genuinely didn’t think I was doing anything wrong, because I’ve got naturally curly hair,” Nelson added.
Nelson was asked about the accusations in an interview withNew York’sVulture, stating that she never received this sort of backlash while she was in the group and that she’s “just 100% being myself.”
“If you look at me onX-Factorwith my big curly hair, I was wearing trainers and combats — that’s who I am as an artist and as Jesy,” she told the outlet. “Now I’m out of Little Mix, I’ve gone back to being who I am. Like I said, I don’t ever want to be an artist who’s being told what to wear or what music to make. I want to be authentic and true to myself, and if people don’t like that, don’t be my fan. Don’t be a part of my journey.”
The magazine stated that it had scheduled follow-up calls with the songstress to discuss identity and blackfishing, but Nelson’s team canceled them and instead provided a statement.
While she did not mention her directly, Minaj, 38, referred to leaked screenshots from Pinnock where she allegedly criticized Nelson for blackfishing.
While Nelson’s former bandmates have not publicly addressed Nelson’s new song, they all unfollowed her on Instagram over the weekend.
Nelsonleft the grouplast December citing how being in the group had been “taking a toll” on her mental health. She has since shared how “truly unhappy” she felt in the group and revealed in an interview last week that she and her Little Mix “sisters” had not spoken since her exit.
“We’ve sent a few texts, but that’s it. I can’t explain it, it’s like there has to be this distance,” Nelson said in herGlamour U.K.interview. “We were so close so you can’t do in-between, there has to be space and hopefully at some point in the future, we can all come back together.”
source: people.com
