Little Mix Reveals Confronting Jesy Nelson Over Blackfishing Controversy Before She Left the Group
British girl group Little Mix revealed that they talked with their former member, Jesy Nelson, about "blackfishing," the practice of a non-Black person trying to appear Black before she suddenly left the group last year.
In an interview with Stella Magazine, Little Mix - composed of Jade Thirwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Perrie Edwards - said they had a "friendly, educational chat" with Nelson after she began to overhaul her image, The Daily Mail reported.
It can be recalled that Little Mix originally includes Nelson in the group. But she left the group in December or after nine years, saying that being in the group had taken so much toll on her mental health.
The issue of Jesy Nelson engaging in blackfishing came after she released her debut single "Boyz," featuring Nicki Minaj, and its accompanying music video where appeared in a spray tan, multiple wigs, and fuller lips, Billboard reported.
Nelson also reportedly sings with a "Blaccent" in some lines of the song.
Little Mix Confirms Talking to Jesy Nelson Over' Blackfishing' Controversy
In the interview, Little Mix noted that they spoke to Jesy Nelson about the difficulties the singer wanted to present herself.
"We've dealt with it in the best way that we know-how, and get each other through it," the group said, adding that they did not want to talk about Nelson's music video or be critical about it.
"One thing we will clarify about the blackfishing situation is that Jesy was approached by the group in a friendly, educational manner," Little Mix noted.
Pinnock said in the interview that it was "problematic and harmful" for people of color when other people capitalize on aspects of being Black without "having to endure" the realities of the Black experience.
"We think it's absolutely not OK to use harmful stereotypes. There's so much to say on that subject that it's hard, to sum up in a sound bite," Pinnock noted.
Jesy Nelson has also spoken about the Blackfishing issue that surrounded her.
"The whole time I was in Little Mix I never got any of that. And then I came out [of the band] and people all of a sudden were saying it," Nelson said.
She then explained that she loves Black culture and its music, and she grew up listening to their music.
Nicki Minaj Defends Jesy Nelson; Rips Leigh-Anne Pinnock Over Text Messages
In light of the blackfishing issue, Nicki Minaj defended Jesy Nelson in an hour-long Instagram Live video last month.
Minaj also brought up the allegations about Leigh-Anne Pinnock sending a string of unverified messages to an influencer. The messages allegedly described Nelson as "horrible" and further accused her of blackfishing.
@nohun_ Addressing the situation before it gets out of hand ⬠original sound - NOHUN
U.K. influencer, musician, and comedian NoHun revealed in a TikTok video that Pinnock sent him the DMS, although the messages are still unverified.
According to Nelson, she was warned about blackfishing by Pinnovk after the group's last music video, "Sweet Melody," which was released in October 2020.
In defending Jesy Nelson, Minaj said: "Don't try to come out and ruin anyone. Let her enjoy this time. If you were in the woman's group and you ain't talking about sh-for 10 years, and as soon as you see she got a video come out with Nicki Minaj and Puffy, now you sending text messages to stations and all this sh--."
Jesy Nelson earlier noted that she has not spoken to members of Little Mix since her exit.
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Written by: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Jesy Nelson Accused of Blackfishing in New Exposé - From Clevver News