Gigi Lamayne encouraged to bleach her skin to 'further' her career

Gigi Lamayne has reflected on being a "darker-skinned girl" in the industry, claiming that an unnamed celeb tried to convince her to consider bleaching her skin to get further in the industry.

Gigi was interviewed by Sho Madjozi on Power FM recently, where they discussed colourism in the industry.

The rapper said she was aware of colourism in the industry and was even told by another woman that she should bleach her skin to get further.

"Most of the time, whether it was on social media or hearsay in the industry, I have always heard about things ... I mean, I've had somebody approach me in the industry, a woman, encouraging me to change - bleach. She spoke to me about how different things got when she decided to do that."

Gigi said people acknowledged her talent but sometimes questioned her beauty and suggested that she could go further if she was "a few shades lighter".

Gigi has spoken before about the pressures of the industry and how it resulted in her attempting suicide late last year.

Speaking to DJ Fresh on Metro FM in April, Gigi said she had become "tired" of competing with others and being judged for her complexion, among other things.

"I'd just had enough. I'd had enough of the industry. I'd had enough of constantly competing or being put up against people. I'd had enough of trying to be perfect all the time.

"It was just like either she is gaining weight, or she's losing weight, or she's too dark. There was too many expectations."