Normani Kordei has commented on Camila Cabello‘s past use of racial slurs.
In a new Rolling Stone interview, the “Motivation” singer was asked about the resurfaced racist slurs and memes her former Fifth Harmony bandmate is said to have posted to her personal Tumblr page in her early-to-mid teens.
At the time, Normani said she wanted to be “concise” with her response and needed some time to think about it. “I just want to make sure that anything I say is exactly what I mean,” she explained to the reporter. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
Holding true to her word, she then emailed the publication a lengthy statement, which began with: “I want to be very clear about what I’m going to say on this uncomfortable subject and figured it would be best to write out my thoughts to avoid being misconstrued, as I have been in the past. I struggled with talking about this because I didn’t want it to be a part of my narrative, but I am a black woman, who is a part of an entire generation that has a similar story.”
“I face senseless attacks daily, as does the rest of my community,” she went on. “This represents a day in the life for us. I have been tolerating discrimination far before I could even comprehend what exactly was happening. Direct and subliminal hatred has been geared towards me for many years solely because of the color of my skin.”
Speaking about Cabello, Kordei added, “It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me. It was devastating that this came from a place that was supposed to be a safe haven and a sisterhood, because I knew that if the tables were turned I would defend each of them in a single heartbeat. It took days for her to acknowledge what I was dealing with online and then years for her to take responsibility for the offensive tweets that recently resurfaced. Whether or not it was her intention, this made me feel like I was second to the relationship that she had with her fans.”
“I don’t want to say that this situation leaves me hopeless because I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for personal growth. I really hope that an important lesson was learned in this,” Normani concluded. “I hope there is genuine understanding about why this was absolutely unacceptable. I have spoken what is in my heart and pray this is transparent enough that I never have to speak on it again. To my brown men and women, we are like no other. Our power lies within our culture. We are descendants of an endless line of strong and resilient kings and queens. We have been and will continue to win in all that we do simply because of who we are. We deserve to be celebrated, I deserve to be celebrated and I’m just getting started.”
The now-defunct Tumblr account reportedly contained reshared posts with the N-word, Asian slurs and other racially offensive material.
The “Señorita” singer issued an apology to her 10.8 million Twitter fans, after the posts were discovered.
“When I was younger I used language that I’m deeply ashamed of and will regret forever,” she began her Dec. 18 post. “I was uneducated and ignorant and once I became aware of the history and the weight and the true meaning behind this horrible and hurtful language, I was deeply embarrassed I ever used it.”
“I apologized then and I apologize again now. I would never intentionally hurt anyone and I regret it from the bottom of my heart. As much as I wish I could, I can’t go back in time and change things I said in the past. But once you know better, you do better and that’s all I can do,” she continued, adding, “I’m 22 now. I’m an adult and I’ve grown and learned and am conscious and aware of the history and the pain it carries in a way I wasn’t before. The truth is I was embarrassingly ignorant and unaware.”
Though Camila never mentioned what specifically she was apologizing for, a Twitter account shared a thread called “exposing camila cabello’s racist and downright disturbing tumblr reblogs” the day before her public statement. The thread featured seven-year-old posts, including one appearing to confirm the Tumblr account was indeed Cabello’s after her picture was added at the request of a fan: “Can you post a picture of yourself?”
The Tumblr account has since been taken down.
TooFab has contacted a rep for Camila Cabello regarding Normani’s statements.
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