Yahoo News Tulisa "acknowledges the pain" of X Factor star Misha B in new statement
Former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos has released a statement where she "acknowledges the pain" of contestant Misha B.
Earlier this month Misha B – who appeared on the ITV show in 2011 as a teenager – shared her belief that X Factor producers and judges created a narrative to make her look like a bully on the show.
In a video Misha said: "My understanding is you've created this whole narrative of me being over confident, because you are Black and Black girls are not supposed to be confident."
Tuilsa, who along with Louis Walsh accused Misha of being mean to other contestants backstage while on live TV, initially responded to Misha's video with one of her own.
In the video, Tuilsa denied her comments were racially motivated and said if she had been the person she is today, she "would have handled it in a very different way".
But in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday (June 23), Tulisa said her initial video response was an "emotional reaction."
A post shared by Tulisa Contostavlos (@tulisasinstagram) on Jun 23, 2020 at 1:13pm PDT
"When I first posted a video it was more a reaction to online violent/death threats to myself and my family and people telling me to kill myself," she wrote.
"It was on a massive scale and I jumped to defence mode. I sent Misha a separate message when I first posted that vid to apologise because my post was less about her and more an emotional reaction."
"I fully acknowledge the pain I caused & fully accept people should be angry about it. I can state again there was nothing racial in my thought process," Tulisa continued.
"When I referred to Misha as being feisty and competitive that was a reflection in myself because I saw myself in Misha. We are both very strong women and when I communicate with people I always jump to what I have in common to find a basis to connect.
"However, I totally understand that it made Misha feel a certain way as a young black girl hearing it from a young white girl on a huge platform, living in the oppressed society we do, full of racial slurs and undertones not knowing my thought process.
"This I can only acknowledge, apologise for and hold my hands up and say I'm truly sorry. It was something I did not understand at the time. I made a mistake and I completely take on board how that mistake has been viewed."
Tulisa went on to state that, backstage at the show, someone younger than her and Misha came up to her "upset over an accusation/ judgement that Misha had expressed & later admitted to me, which I felt was extremely harsh and not the first time I had heard this".
Tulisa continued: "I ran out there thinking, I'm doing [t]he right thing, I have to call her out. I have to protect, I have to be a protector, attacking it head on is the only way to make it stop."
The former judge went on to say that while Misha was only 18 at the time, she [Tulisa] was only 22 and "didn't have any guidance and I'd been given the most powerful platform in the industry at the time".
"I had a huge responsibility that I clearly wasn't ready for in those circumstances," Tulisa continued.
Tulisa continued by saying Misha had every right to be "angry and to speak her truth".
"I do however feel you left out what our specific issue was about and left my intentions a lot more open to interpretation," she added.
"I was most definitely acting on impulse and was not aware of, nor a part of, any agendas that could have been at play."
Tulisa ended by saying she had thought about reaching out to Misha many times over the years and didn't, which she admits was a mistake.
"I can only tell you once again how sorry I am for the years of hurt and pain you've experienced and that I was a part of that," she added.
"I don't want to see anyone hurting let alone be the cause of it. I can only hope you can see in my heart now and know that's not who I am today."
For more information on how you can support Black Lives Matter, please visit its official website or donate here. Readers can also donate to the UK anti-discrimination group Stand Up To Racism, and the Unite Families & Friends Campaign, which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
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