Every so often, actors or artists make public statements about the mistreatment that they endured in the entertainment industry and call for action to change it.
India Arie is one of the latest musicians to speak out about her “TRASH” experience in the music industry. Although she didn’t ask for it to change, she did speak about the growth she’s had since the early days of her career. In several Instagram story slides on Tuesday, Jan. 11, Arie blasted the industry while taking a trip down memory lane.
After posting two old photos of herself at the Grammy Awards, the soul singer wrote, “seeing old pictures reminds me how TRASH the music industry is. SHEER and utter Trash.” She continued in the next slide writing, “The music industry is racist. sexist. deceitful. It steals from artists. Trash.”
In the third slide, she said, “I’ll never heal from all of it. Because some if it shaped my life in ways I can’t get back. But I LOOOOOOVE who I am. So I imagine the journey was meant to be.” The 46-year-old, who’s known for making self-empowering and uplifting songs like “I Am Not My Hair,” and “Video,” even accused the industry of making her feel she “WASN’T beautiful.”
Continuing to reflect on her journey and deciding to focus on the positive outcome of her negative experience, she said, “I HAVE GROWN FREE! And MORE Beautiful. And exponentially SOULFUL!” She added that her “MOST POWERFUL DAYS ARE STILL TO COME!”
She closed out the 10-slide message by thanking those who “hurt, “used,” “SUED,” “played,” “Stole from,” and “betrayed” while also giving them the middle finger.
Arie, who’s won several Grammys and NAACP awards, spoke to Oprah in 2013 on an episode of “Super Soul Sunday,” where she admitted that she contemplated leaving the music industry several times.
“There’s several months where I was retired,” she told Oprah. “I just decided I wasn’t gonna do the music industry. I feel like I’m always gonna sing and write songs because it’s me. But I never felt like I had to be in the music industry, but I understand now that it’s the vehicle for my message and, you know, the more people you reach, the more people you reach.”
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