Tulisa Contostavlos has issued a second apology to singer Misha B after being caught up in an X Factor racism scandal.
Misha, 28, shared a heartfelt video about the moment then-X Factor judge Tulisa, 31, publicly accused her of making ‘mean comments’ to other contestants backstage in 2011.
During the uncomfortable incident, Tulisa described Misha as having an ‘attitude’ and ‘feistiness’ while fellow judge Louis Walsh echoed similar sentiments.
Although Misha never explicitly accused Tulisa of racism, the former N-Duz star has made it clear there wasn’t any racial intent behind her message to the singer.
After initially responding to Misha’s video last week, Tulisa has now released a full statement on the matter.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Tulisa explained: ‘It’s been hard to find the words or know whether to speak at all, but I don’t want to leave things on the note of my last post.
‘I can see clearly that a black female was and is still hurt by my actions on The X Factor. That became overshadowed in my mind last week.’
The singer went on to explain that she has been subjected to ‘online/violent death threats’ to her family on a ‘massive scale’, prompting her to get into ‘defence mode’.
Tulisa admitted that her first response was ‘less about [Misha]’ and ‘more an emotional reaction’.
She continued: ‘I fully acknowledge the pain I caused and fully accept people should be angry about it. I can state again there was nothing racial in my thought process.
‘When I referred to Misha as being feisty and competitive that was a reflection of 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.’
Looking back in hindsight, Tulisa added: ‘I let my emotions get in the way of my work & I didn’t stop to think of the consequences for you, Misha, at the age of 18, immediate or long term.’
Misha previously revealed that she was inspired to open up about her X Factor experience due to the Black Lives Matter movement.
‘Seeing the continuous mistreatment of my brothers and sisters all around the world has reawakened the PTSD that I have worked tirelessly to uproot and I know I do not stand alone on this,’ she explained.
‘In 2011 what I thought at the time would be the best opportunity for me, turned out to be the most painful experience of my life. What you see in this video is 1% of what I endured.’
She added: ‘They saw an opportunity to tear down a black girl that came from a broken home and worked together to sabotage my career by orchestrating lies upon lies. For what exactly I will never comprehend.
‘Nonetheless today and everyday I am a powerful black woman. I have been aware since I was a child, that my unapologetic nature would offend those that do not feel comfortable in their own skin…. Which results in this kind of behaviour.’
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