In Jesy Nelson’s new video “Boyz” fans were surprised to see her with a darker complexion than Black rapper Nicki Minaj and accused her of blackfishing.
Jesy says she is not blackfishing.
“The whole time I was in Little Mix I never got any of that,” she told Vulture.
She continued: “And then I came out of [the band] and people all of a sudden were saying it. I wasn’t on social media around that time, so I let my team [deal with it], because that was when I’d just left. But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on. I’m very aware that I’m a white British woman; I’ve never said that I wasn’t.”
She added, “If you look at me on X Factor with my big curly hair, I was wearing trainers and combats — that’s who I am as an artist and as Jesy. Now I’m out of Little Mix, I’ve gone back to being who I am.”