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Tinashe Responds to Backlash Following Colorism Comments and Whether the Black Community Fully Accepts Her

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Tinashe’s father is from Zimbabwe and her mother is of Danish, Norwegian, Irish and English heritage. (@tinashenow/Instagram)

Twitter users unleashed a slew of messages on singer Tinashe for her statements about experiencing colorism, but she says they were taken out of context.

“There’s colorism involved in the Black community, which is very apparent,” she told The Guardian Monday, June 12, after noting that her having a Black father and white mother was used “as another example of why I was different.” “It’s about trying to find a balance where I’m a mixed woman, and sometimes I feel like I don’t fully fit into the Black community; they don’t fully accept me, even though I see myself as a Black woman.

“That disconnect is confusing sometimes. I am what I am.”

Tinashe largely discussed her experiences in the music industry, which included her struggles with getting her sophomore album off the ground and the lack of support for Black female artists in the industry. Because of that, many Twitter users assumed she blamed Black music fans for her lack of success, as her highest charting single, 2014’s “2 On,” only made it to No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.

https://twitter.com/youngsinick/status/874621901011812352

https://twitter.com/Imani_Yvonne/status/874616593447350273

Some questioned why Tinashe couldn’t speak up about how colorism affected her.

https://twitter.com/HollyGoNightly1/status/874613882152726528

One pointed out what Tinashe was really referring to when she discussed colorism.

https://twitter.com/spxcetime/status/874626557419171840

And Tinashe spent part of Tuesday making it known that her remarks were misconstrued.

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