Normani was 'hurt' it took years for Camila Cabello to apologize for old racist posts: 'It was devastating'
Just two months after Camila Cabello apologized for her past racist remarks, fellow former Fifth Harmony member Normani opened up about how hurt she was to find out about Camila's racist posts and her own experience when battling trolls.
In her 'Rolling Stone' cover story, along with discussing her career plans, Normani also addressed Camila's Tumblr activity, which had reportedly used the 'N' word. Normani wrote her thoughts in an email statement to the magazine.
"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," she wrote.
"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. 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."
Addressing the Camila situation specifically, she said that Camila took her own time in acknowledging the trolling Normani was going through. "It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me," she said.
"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."
In December, Camila had apologised for her offensive statements, via a post on Instagram. "When I was younger, I used language that I'm deeply ashamed of and will regret forever," she wrote.
"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 apologize then and I apologize again now. 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."
Normani added that she hoped there was an 'important lesson' to be learned from this', and that an understanding why this was completely unacceptable. "I don’t want to say that this situation leaves me hopeless because I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for personal growth.” She wrote that she would not like to address this again.
Normani, who had launched her career with the 'Motivation' music video, also spoke about her own vision of empowerment, for her people.
"To my brown men and women, we are like no other," she said. "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."