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British Singer Lianne La Havas Thinks #BritsSoWhite is ‘Racist’ Despite Being Snubbed Herself

Posted byBy Ricky Riley | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Lianne La Havas' second album, Blood, expands on the cool, nuanced tone of her debut, while adding a shot of intensity. Photo by Jean Paul Pietrus

Lianne La Havas’ second album, Blood, expands on the cool, nuanced tone of her debut, while adding a shot of intensity.
Photo by Jean Paul Pietrus

Genre-bending soul singer Lianne La Havas removed herself from the #BritsSoWhite controversy on Twitter and lost fans as a result.

This year’s Brit Awards falls in line with other major award shows, where talks of diversity have taken over the headlines instead of the artists. Like the Oscars, the Brit Awards — a music ceremony that honors the best in the British music industry — is dominated by white nominees when there were talented Black and people of color who were snubbed completely.

According to the Guardian, “the success of Black soul singers has been notably brushed over this year – even though they make the very style of music many of the white nominees are lauded for.”

La Havas did not want to be tossed into the conversation. In fact, she called the trending hashtag, #BritsSoWhite, “racist and unfounded.” La Havas was one of those talented people who were snubbed. Her most recent album, Blood was not nominated and neither was she. Here are some of the artists who were nominated:

Brit Awards 2016 winner’s list
British album of the year

25 (Adele) – WINNER
A Head Full of Dreams (Coldplay)
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Florence + the Machine)
In Colour (Jamie XX)
Chaos and the Calm (James Bay)

British female solo artist

Adele – WINNER
Amy Winehouse
Florence + the Machine
Jess Glynne
Laura Marling

British male solo artist

Aphex Twin
Calvin Harris
James Bay – WINNER
Jamie XX
Mark Ronson

Many of her fans were taken aback at her response and many took to Twitter to express their contrasting perspective on the whole controversy.

https://twitter.com/OFadz_/status/702880051608608768

https://twitter.com/localblactivist/status/702899723871645697

https://twitter.com/TheBeatnikBill/status/702911426520743936

The soul singer responded to the backlash with this tweet:

https://twitter.com/liannelahavas/status/702800100037423104

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