Little Mix Talked To Former Groupmate Jesy Nelson About Her Blackfishing
Last month, former member of the girl group Little Mix, Jesy Nelson (the one looking Kardashian-esque in camo) was called out yet again for blackfishing, something she’s been called out for before. Jesy’s recent blackfishing antics happened in the video for Boyz which features Nicki Minaj. Nicki came to Jesy’s defense. But Jesy’s former groupmates did not. In an interview with The Telegraph’s Stella Magazine, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock revealed that when Jesy was still in the group, they politely had a little educational chat with her about the blackfishing.
Jesy left Little Mix band back in December 2020, citing that she wanted to work on her mental health. Since her exit, Jesy said that apart from a few texts, she hadn’t spoken to her former groupmates. When Jesy got shit for blackfishing in the Boyz video, she said that she grew up with Black culture, but she’s very aware that she’s a white woman and has never said otherwise. Jesy also claimed that she never received accusations of blackfishing while in Little Mix. But according to Little Mix, she knew because they talked to her about it before she left the group. via People:
“We’ve dealt with it in the best way that we know how, and got each other through it,” Thirlwall said. “We don’t want to talk about the video, or be critical, but one thing we will clarify regarding the blackfishing situation is that Jesy was approached by the band in a very friendly, educational manner.”
While Thirlwall told Stella that she, Edwards and Pinnock did not want to “dwell” on Nelson “because we have so much to celebrate as a three,” she did discuss blackfishing, and described it as “problematic.”
“Capitalizing on aspects of blackness without having to endure the daily realities of the Black experience is problematic and harmful to people of color,” she told the outlet. “We think it’s absolutely not okay to use harmful stereotypes. There’s so much to say on that subject that it’s hard to sum up in a sound bite.”
Since Little Mix already tried talking to Jesy and it seems like she doesn’t give a shit, I can’t imagine she would care about this interview now. In fact, Jesy will probably just double down again. Can’t wait for her next single featuring Rachel Dolezal.