Leigh-Anne Pinnock has revealed that at the start of her career, she was encouraged to dye her hair red and shave the sides in order to look more like Rihanna.
The Little Mix star, 29, lifted the lid on how she was made to feel like the ‘token black girl’ in the hugely successful girl band after they shot to fame when they won the X Factor in 2011.
The Shout Out To My Ex singer opened up about how she felt she was treated differently to her bandmates Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and Jesy Nelson in her eye-opening BBC documentary, Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop, and Power.
Leigh-Anne explained that at the beginning of her music career, she was ‘defined’ by her race when certain people in the industry told her to dye her hair red, and get an undercut.
The stunning star admitted that she felt as though she was being made to look like the ‘token black girl’ in the group as she was constantly compared to music superstar, Rihanna.
Opening her heart about the racism she experienced, Leigh-Anne admitted: “It was clear my race was being used to define my image in the group.
“It made me feel different to the other girls.”
Leigh-Anne also spoke about how she was made feel ‘beneath’ the other girls in the group.
She recalled one occasion where the girl group had arrived in a city for a show when they were greeted by a group of fans.
Leigh-Anne explained how she felt ‘so low’ when the excited fans all walked past her and walked to the other girls, which made her feel ‘completely invisible’.
“Little 'weird' things that always kept happening that I only realised once I was out of the situation what was going on.
“All the feelings built up, and it was something I could never fully explain.
“I felt invisible and as though people would just look past me.”
She went on: “I wanted to feel on the same level as the other girls, but nothing I did was good enough and nothing could get me to that level.”
Stream Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop, and Power on BBC iPlayer now.
