Pop star Camila Cabello took to social media Wednesday to apologize for "embarrassingly ignorant" remarks she made in the past, though she remained vague about what specifically she was apologizing for. Instead, she used the opportunity to remind fans that she now stands only for "love and inclusivity."
The 22-year-old "Havana" singer took full responsibility for her remarks, without actually saying what they were, and blamed her youth and ignorance.
"When I was younger, I used language that I'm deeply ashamed of and will regret forever," the Cuban singer wrote in a statement shared on Twitter and Instagram. "I was uneducated and ignorant and once I became aware of the history and the weight and true meaning behind this horrible and hurtful language, I was deeply embarrassed I ever used it."
The former Fifth Harmony star said she apologized then but is apologizing again now, adding that "I would never intentionally hurt anyone and I regret it from the bottom of my heart. ... Once you know better, you do better, and that's all I can do."
Reps for Cabello did not verify or elaborate on the apology when reached by The Times on Wednesday.
However, the singer's statement came a day after now-defunct Tumblr blog entries were republished online. The old remarks went viral on Twitter on Tuesday after a user shared an explicit thread titled "exposing camila cabello's racist and downright disturbing tumblr reblogs."
The threads included a series of inflammatory screenshots from the deactivated "vous-etess-belle" Tumblr account, which the user believes belonged to Cabello and which featured racist jokes, memes and repeated use of the N-word.
In her extended apology Wednesday, Cabello did not mention the Tumblr or Twitter accounts, but she remained remorseful about past language she had used and the damage it might have caused.
"I'm an adult and I've grown and learned and am conscious and aware of the history and the pain it carries in a way I wasn't before," she wrote. "Those mistakes don't represent the person I am or a person I've ever been. I only stand and have ever stood for love and inclusivity, and my heart has never, even then, had any ounce of hate or divisiveness."
She added: "The truth is I was embarrassingly ignorant and unaware. I use my platform to speak about injustice and inequality and I'll continue doing that. I can't say enough how deeply sorry and ashamed I feel, and I apologize again from the bottom of my heart."
