Tinashe Colorism And Mixed Heritage Guardian Interview Sparks Twitter Reaction With Memes And Gifs

“Flame” singer Tinashe caused an uproar on Twitter Tuesday when she discussed colorism during an interview with the Guardian the day before. One of the things people took problem with in her interview was that she claimed there is not much room for there to be multiple black successful woman in the music industry.

“Recently, my cousin was with a friend of a friend, who was in high school, and she was like: ‘I’m a fan of Kehlani,’ but in a way that was like, ‘So I can’t be a fan of Tinashe, too.’ Then my friend posed the question, ‘Why not be a fan of both?’ It’s kind of like sport; people feel like they have to pick a side,” she mused to the Guardian. “There are hundreds of [male] rappers that all look the same, that sound the same, but if you’re a black woman, you’re either Beyoncé or Rihanna. It’s very, very strange.”

READ: Calvin Harris And Tinashe Have 'Casual' Relationship

Tinashe claimed “I Bet” singer also suffered from this theory that there isn’t enough room in the music business. “It felt like they almost had to sacrifice someone because there wasn’t enough room, which isn’t true. Ciara’s an amazing artist, Beyoncé’s an amazing artist, Rihanna’s an amazing artist, and they’re all very different!” she said.

When it comes to Tinashe’s mixed heritage, she said she was picked on in school for it and that it still remains a problem for her.

“There’s colorism involved in the black community, which is very apparent,” she said. “It’s about trying to find a balance where I’m a mixed woman, and sometimes I feel like I don’t fully fit into the black community; they don’t fully accept me, even though I see myself as a black woman. That disconnect is confusing sometimes.” Tinashe added: “I am what I am.”

One of the popular things people tweeted about was that Tinashe was allegedly blaming the color of her skin for not having a successful career in music.

There were a few, however, who defended Tinashe.

Some even blamed Tinashe’s management for the interview.

READ: Chris Brown Takes On Tinashe For Slamming Him

In the article, Tinashe also confirmed the rumor that Rihanna stole the title track from her new album, Joyride. “Yeah, that’s true,” she said to the Guardian. “But I don’t know if it was personally Rihanna, like, ‘I’m taking that from Tinashe.’ I don’t think that’s how it worked. But it’s back now.”

Despite her battles, Tinashe never thought about quitting music. “It’s definitely been discouraging, and I have days where I’m less confident, but at the end I know that I’m going to get to where I need to go,” she said. “There’s doubt that seeps in, there’s self-deprecation, because you look to someone to blame and you can’t blame anyone but yourself, but I’ve never, ever thought, ‘I’m going to work in a mall.’”

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