Tulisa Contostavlos apologizes for calling out the former contestant publicly while insisting her comments about the singer were never 'racially motivated.'
- Jun 17, 2020
AceShowbiz - Tulisa Contostavlos has hit back following "The X Factor U.K." contestant Misha B's claims of bullying on the show, insisting her comments about the singer were never "racially motivated."
Misha B revealed in a recent Instagram Live video that the comments Tulisa and fellow judge Louis Walsh made to her on stage - with the former accusing her of being "feisty" and "mean" - had upset her so much that she considered ending her life. Misha was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) following her appearance on the 2011 series, the season Little Mix won, and her allegations have led to producers at the U.K. TV talent show launching an investigation.
Tulisa addressed Misha's claims in an Instagram video of her own in the early hours of Tuesday, June 16, 2020 and said that while she does regret "calling her out" so publicly about her alleged backstage behaviour, it was never an issue of race.
"I'm not taking away from the fact of how Misha feels," the 31-year-old singer said. "I accept that she is entitled to her opinion and I'm sorry if she feels that that situation was racially motivated. I can only speak for my side of the situation, which I can say it 100 per cent was not. One thing I regret is calling her out publicly the way that I did. If I was the person I am today, who's more emotionally intelligent, who has more life experience, I would have handled it in a very different way. And that I am truly sorry for and I deeply regret."
Since Misha's video, numerous people online have accused Tulisa of being racist - which she strenuously denied as the video continued.
"But to say, and make claims, I'm not saying she is but I've seen people doing it online, that it was racially motivated is ludicrous. Let me explain to you what happened. There had been an accumulation of things, that Misha had done to other contestants and my contestants, backstage. She had made two of my acts cry, one of them being on the night that I made those comments... I called a lot of people out on that show, white, black, tall, short - it's nothing to do with skin colour."
"I was protecting my acts, and if somebody does some nasty stuff, whether it be on that show or not, I'm gonna call them out on it. It's nothing to do with race. I didn't wake up and go, 'I wanna cause some drama for Misha B cos of the colour of her skin.' She did some things that I felt I needed to pull her up on. These things were real and they were happening. I was dealing with crying contestants backstage because of her actions. Now I'm sure she's not the same person - this was 10 years ago - just as I'm not the same person to call her out in the way that I did. I was a very feisty 22-year-old. I didn't think of emotional consequences, but I can 100 per cent tell you, race was not even in the equation. It had nothing to do with race. These accusations are ludicrous."
Tulisa then stopped the video and restarted it in another part of her house when she continued to explain how much she owes to black culture and added that she's now doing her best to "educate" herself on the Black Lives Matter movement after seeking advice from her friends.
Concluding her video, the former N-Dubz singer emphatically stated, "Please believe me when I tell you, I do not have a racist bone in my body."
