Leigh-Anne Pinnock felt "scared" to speak out about racial inequality in the music industry.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock
The Little Mix star decided to speak about her experiences in the business in light of the Black Lives Matter movement earlier this year, but Leigh-Anne was initially fearful of the potential backlash.
She shared: "We’re all passionate about using our platform to raise awareness and to help each other through struggles.
"I think it’s important for us to be helping people in whatever way we can – we said that right from the minute we got together that that’s what we were gonna do."
Leigh-Anne, 29 - who stars in the chart-topping girl group alongside Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson - was heartened to find huge support from the people around her.
She told Clash magazine: "To be fair, the fans have been really supportive.
"I was actually scared that I was gonna offend them or lose some of them. A lot of the time I chose not to say anything. But with issues such as racism, it’s not something that you can be quiet about. It’s something that needs to be talked about."
The pop star discussed her experience of racism in a video earlier this year, saying she's felt "invisible" within the band at times.
Leigh-Anne also admitted to feeling like the "least favoured" member of the group.
She said: "I sing to fans who don’t see me or hear me or cheer me on. My reality is feeling anxious before fan events and signings because I always feel like I’m the least favoured.
"My reality is all the times I’ve felt invisible within my group, part of me is fully aware that my experience would’ve been even harder to cope with had I been dark-skinned."
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