South African superstar Tyla is again addressing identifying as a Black and “Coloured (or Colored)” woman, highlighting that “you can be both” and admitting she once “hated herself” after being bullied over her hair texture and skin color.
After years of struggling to fit into racial labels, singer Tyla is no longer allowing others to tell her what box she needs to fit into. She is no longer seeking validation because she knows exactly who she is. As her career skyrocketed with her international hit “Water,” Tyla has not only made headlines about her music but about words spoken outside the studio.
One of those instances came in 2023 when a resurfaced video from 2020 showed Tyla proudly identifying as a “coloured (colored) South African.” While the term “coloured (or colored)” is widely accepted in her home country, it carries a vastly different meaning in the United States.
The term is deeply tied to the racist Jim Crow era and deemed a completely unacceptable racial slur. Subsequently, Tyla’s comment sent social media into a spiral and the outrage was unforgiving. The singer was accused of distancing herself from and denouncing her Blackness and perpetuating racial hierarchies. Although Tyla’s comments meant no harm, again as the context lies in history, she was still dragged and forced to defend herself.
RELATED: Tyla Speaks Out After Her Team Shuts Down Question During Breakfast Club Interview
Tyla Recalls Shutting Down Race Conversation On The Breakfast Club, Stands By Decision
The question about Tyla identifying as a “Coloured” woman came up during a June 2024 interview with The Breakfast Club. Upon being asked about her comments, she and her team shut down the conversation, which only exacerbated the matter. However, seven months later, Tyla stands by the decision. In a new interview with British VOGUE, Tyla says:
“Me choosing not to say anything, I’m happy that I didn’t. I didn’t want to explain my culture and something that is really important to me on a platform that is just going to be purposefully misconstrued. I’ve explained it a lot of times before, but people took that and put words in my mouth. They said a whole bunch of things that I never said and ran with it.
If people really searched, they’ll see that in South Africa we had a lot of segregation. It was bad for a lot of us. They just classified us. And that just so happens to be the name that the white people called us. They chose to call people that were mixed ‘coloured.’ And I’m not gonna lie, it was hard because all my life, obviously I knew ‘I’m Black’ but also knew that ‘I’m coloured.’ So when I went to America and people were like, ‘You can’t say that!’ I was in a position where I was like, ‘Oh, so what do I do? What am I then?’”
Tyla Admits She ‘Hated Herself’ During Her Early School Years After Being Teased Over Hair Texture And Skin Color
During her interview with British VOGUE, Tyla also talks about the time her identity was questioned for the first time. She recalls students in school and other peers bullying her, claiming, “Your hair’s so poofy. Your hair looks better straight. Look how much darker you are!” She admits:
“I went to a very white primary school. I really hated myself. And then I went to high school, which was predominantly Black and cultured, and that’s where I actually grew to love myself and became really proud of who I am.”
Tyla says she has since made peace with things and knows she’s both a Black woman and “coloured.” She says, “You know that even if you give the best explanation, people will still choose not to understand. But, I’m at a point where I know who I am. I know I’m a Black woman and I know I’m a coloured woman as well and you can be both. And the people that care to learn, they understand now. And that’s enough for me.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!