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Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock suffered racism at nine as classmates said she was from ‘the jungle’


Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock claims classmates said she was from ‘the jungle’ (Picture: GC Images)

Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock has opened up on the racism she received at just nine-years-old.

The Bounce Back hitmaker might be living her best life now, however it sounds as though things weren’t always as glamorous for the former X Factor contestant.

Talking about her upbringing, the 27-year-old recalled the time she was a victim of racism, and how her mother Deborah tried to protect her.

She told The Sunday Times magazine: ‘My primary school wasn’t exactly …multicultural.’

The star, who grew up in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, continued to explain her circumstance, adding: ‘No one else looked like me.’

She confessed: ‘I think my mum was aware of it. She used to straighten my hair.’

The star opened up on being a victim of racism (Picture: WireImage)

Mentioning a particular incident, Leigh-Anne noted: ‘One day, I remember seeing a bit of paper that one of the other kids had written on in class and it said, “Leigh-Anne. Age nine. Nationality, the jungle.”‘

This isn’t the first time the singer has opened up about the hate she has been subjected to, as she recently revealed she would Google ‘black girl in Little Mix’ to see what people were saying.

When asked how she dealt with online trolls, the Shout Out To My Ex songstress admitted: ‘I’m not gonna lie, the first three years of being in the group, I would look for it.’

She said her mum used to straighten her hair (Picture: Getty)

She began: ‘I would search-‘ before breaking down into tears and apologising.

Getting her ‘game face’ back on, she continued: ‘I would look through Twitter and I would search “Leigh-Anne from Little Mix,” and “the black girl in Little Mix.”

‘I would literally put those in my search engine, just to see the comments.’

The star added: ‘Honestly, I regret doing that so much, but I mean, I’m here now, and I just feel so much stronger.’

She told Glamour Magazine that she no longer seeks out negative comments on social media.

‘I’m so proud of who I am. It’s such a good feeling,’ Leigh-Anne confessed.



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