Pearl Thusi: 'People are upset that I don’t subscribe to the norms of black Twitter'
Queen Sono's Pearl Thusi got real with fans about experiencing colourism, saying it started when she was a little girl.
In an interview with podcaster MacG, the star opened up about the trials and tribulations of being light-skinned. Though she has been vocal in the past about her views on the colourism debate, the star says it runs deeper than the backlash she has received online.
Pearl spoke about darkening her skin to fit in with the people around her. She said she has experienced discrimination since her childhood.
“I used to burn my skin when I was a child for people to stop teasing (me). I didn't grow up around other light-skinned people.
"These people think this 'light-skinned' thing started with them. I have had this conversation since I was 11. People think this conversation is new. I had believed I had worked so hard that I had passed that conversation about the colour of my skin,” said Pearl.
She also clapped back at her critics on Twitter: “People are upset that I don’t subscribe to the norms of black Twitter.”
Speaking about her hard work and success, she said: “You can't say all I have is purely because of something I can't change and expect me to accept that. You can't! That's rude! I am going to defend my work. I worked really hard. I have slept in parking lots because I was too tired to drive home."
Watch the interview here:
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In a previous interview with socialite Khanyi Mbau on BET's Behind The Story, which Pearl hosts, she addressed her naysayers. The Quantico star said she isn't the villain in the story, hoping peeps will let her live her life in the future.
“That's what we're supposed to be doing. We are on the same side. I'm not the enemy. I can't change how I look, and if I did, you'd still be mad.
“So let me live my life, live yours. I work very hard for what I have. If my light skin is going to help feed my children and that's what you want to believe, you know what, believe what you want to believe.”