Normani is speaking out publicly and directly for the first time about her ex-bandmate Camila Cabello’s racist Tumblr posts from 2012.
The 23-year-old singer, who was part of the now-defunct girl group Fifth Harmony, issued a pointed statement on the "Crying in the Club" singer in an email to Rolling Stone.
The statement is part of a longer profile on Normani, who was the only black member of the girl group formed on "The X Factor." In the piece, she talked about the hard time on the road with the group — at one point 5H was headlining their own tour and opening for Demi Lovato.
Normani recalled that she questioned herself when only her vocals were left off a song in the group.
“So many things start to go through your mind, like, ‘Maybe this is my fault? What could I have done differently? Am I not working hard enough? Am I not as talented? What’s wrong with my voice?’ ”
She also said that all the time on the road meant she missed some normal teenage experiences, such as going to prom, and was alone in dealing with racist trolls and bullying online.
That bullying, Rolling Stone reported, included images of Normani’s face photoshopped into lynching photos.
According to Normani, her bandmates weren't well-equipped to defend her against the bullying, summing it up as "them not knowing how to be there for me the way that I needed it because it wasn't their own experience, and because when they look at me they don't see me."
When the reporter asked Normani about her thoughts on Cabello's racist social media posts made in 2012 — when Cabello was about 14 — the "Motivation" singer asked for time to give a thoughtful response.
She ended up responding in email, addressing the claims directly and in a public interview for the first time:
“I want to be very clear about what I’m going to say on this uncomfortable subject and figured it would be best to write out my thoughts to avoid being misconstrued, as I have been in the past,” Normani wrote. “I struggled with talking about this because I didn’t want it to be a part of my narrative, but I am a black woman, who is a part of an entire generation that has a similar story.”
“I face senseless attacks daily, as does the rest of my community. This represents a day in the life for us. I have been tolerating discrimination far before I could even comprehend what exactly was happening. Direct and subliminal hatred has been geared towards me for many years solely because of the color of my skin. It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me. It was devastating that this came from a place that was supposed to be a safe haven and a sisterhood, because I knew that if the tables were turned I would defend each of them in a single heartbeat. It took days for her to acknowledge what I was dealing with online and then years for her to take responsibility for the offensive tweets that recently resurfaced. Whether or not it was her intention, this made me feel like I was second to the relationship that she had with her fans.”
In December, Cabello tweeted an apology for the posts when they resurfaced. The posts included multiple uses of the N-word.
“I don’t want to say that this situation leaves me hopeless because I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for personal growth,” Normani said in her email. “I really hope that an important lesson was learned in this. I hope there is genuine understanding about why this was absolutely unacceptable. I have spoken what is in my heart and pray this is transparent enough that I never have to speak on it again. To my brown men and women, we are like no other. Our power lies within our culture. We are descendants of an endless line of strong and resilient kings and queens. We have been and will continue to win in all that we do simply because of who we are. We deserve to be celebrated, I deserve to be celebrated and I’m just getting started.”
Normani’s full profile can be read at Rolling Stone. The profile is part of the magazine’s “Women Shaping the Future” issue, which features Normani with Meg Thee Stallion and SZA on the cover.
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