Fleur East's skin was dubbed "disgusting, dirty and ugly" by racist bullies when she was just eight years old.
Fleur East
The 'Sax' hitmaker recalls how she was approached by three white girls when she was a kid, and told she was disgusting just because of the colour of her skin.
Sharing her first harrowing experience of racism at the age of eight, the bullies said: "Your skin is disgusting, dirty, ugly."
She added: "'It was like they had punched me in the stomach. I didn't know what to say ...
"My mum was a devout Christian and had always taught me that this is the way God made me. I said that to the girls, I said, 'But I love my skin.' But they said, 'Your skin is ugly, why is it brown?' I walked away and cried, I was just like I don't understand, why am I being attacked, what? What's wrong with my skin? Is it dirty and ugly? That was my earliest experience."
And the 32-year-old singer admits the last week of protests following the death of George Floyd has left her feeling "emotionally and mentally drained".
She shared in her Instagram Live video: "I would love to think that people judge me purely on the person I am. My ultimate wish is that people don't see colour ... Do you think people enjoy talking about this? No one does. No one enjoys talking about sharing experiences where we were attacked because of the colour if our skin. At the end of every day this past week I have felt emotionally and mentally drained - but its bigger than me And I will talk about it. I'm not here to beef anyone or have an argument, I'm just here to have a conversation."
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