Meghan Markle’s experiences show racism affects every Black person, says Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock

Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock praised the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle for her interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year.

The singer, 29, is highlighting how race has impacted her music career in a new BBC documentary Race Pop & Power.

Asked about the Duchess ahead of her BBC film, Leigh-Anne told press her experiences ‘show racism doesn’t exclude you’.

‘If you’re a Black person it’s going to affect you at some point in your life,’ she said.

‘I think she really showed that and I hope people could see that it doesn’t matter how much money you have or how successful you are it still affects you.’

She also confessed she was worried she might lose the support of Little Mix fans by fronting the documentary.

‘I was really scared actually. I was scared people wouldn’t understand because I feel like with racism if you don’t experience it, how are you ever going to really get it?’ she queried.

‘I was also scared to lose fans, of offending fans because that’s not what I’m trying to do at all, I just wanted to address how I felt. I was really scared.’

However she added that she has ‘never felt so empowered’ and the film has sparked conversations with her white friends.

‘It’s amazing to know that things are going in the right direction but we have a long way to go,’ Leigh-Anne added.

One of the main reasons she wanted to take part in the film is so she could reach out to as many people as possible with her platform, and hopefully encourage more diversity across all industries.

‘Although I feel like R&B is becoming bigger in the UK, I still feel like the representation isn’t where it should be in comparison to America. I can speak for pop music and representation is nowhere near where it should be,’ she said of the music industry in particular.

‘We’re taking inspiration from black people but why am I not seeing more black people?

‘I hope to see a change because it’s not fair and I’m not going to sit back and take it anymore, like I did for so many years.’

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