Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock is praised for confronting Andre Gray over his colourist tweets

Leigh-Anne Pinnock has been praised by fans for confronting her fiancé Andre Gray over disrespectful tweets he made towards dark-skinned black women. 

The mixed race couple both featured in the Little Mix singer’s documentary, Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, which aired on BBC One on Thursday night. 

In the show, the 29-year-old singer – who is expecting her first child with her footballer fiancé – confronted Andre over resurfaced tweets of his from 2012 in which he compared dark-skinned women wearing red lipstick to ‘burnt toast with jam on it’.

Sitting him down to confront his behaviour, Leigh-Anne said: ‘I will never know what it feels like to be a dark-skinned woman but seeing those tweets really made me feel a bit sick.

‘I was really upset because I was just like, “Who is this person? This is horrible”. That wasn’t the person I knew. When they surfaced, my heart sank. Because I was like, “That is not the person I met. It sounds like a child, like a silly child”.’  

Explaining his behaviour, Andre, 29, said: ‘This is what happens when you’re kids and that. You do become a product of your environment. So whatever you are around every day, and you’re not educated on it, or exposed to why it’s wrong, then it kind of sticks.’

The Watford striker added: ‘There’s no excuse at all, when it all came out and stuff, like obviously I was embarrassed, ashamed, disappointed, at the same time… I had to be a man about it. 

‘I’ve made that mistake and I’ve learnt, and I’ve educated myself and grew up to understand how offensive and how wrong it was what I did. There was never any malice, but again, no excuse.’ 

Leigh-Anne continued: ‘Because it’s like, how would you feel if someone said that about like your cousin or auntie?’

In the scene which was filmed before she announced her pregnancy, she continued: ‘We could have a child and it could come out darker than us. Like, you just don’t know?’  

Fans took to Twitter after watching the powerful scene as they praised Leigh-Anne for bringing up the issue. 

They tweeted: ‘Leigh-Anne having THE conversation with Andre. She is just, wow. Everyone needs to watch Race, pop & Power.’; ‘It makes me so happy that instead of ignoring Andre’s past tweets. Leigh Anne called him out for his past colourism and they discussed together how wrong it was. It’s so important to have these discussions with friends or family that have made racist comments!  

‘Honestly big up Leigh confronting Andre about his tweets, big up Leigh Anne Leigh Anne holding Andre accountable for them tweets  here for it’; ‘respect to leigh-anne for bringing up andre’s tweets and making him explain himself!!’;

‘Leigh-Anne called out and held her fiancé and father of their child accountable for his problematic and hurtful tweets. Use this as a teachable moment, yall cannot be silent and watch ur friends and family be ignorant and discriminatory towards people!! 

‘Im glad she addressed not just racism but, colourism as well and actually wanted to learn from others and become educated about matters. Also glad she spoke to Andre upfront about racist tweets and as opposed to forgetting it being 8 yrs ago.

‘I’m so glad Leigh Anne pulled up Andre’s past tweets it’s so important to address all issues no matter how close people are to you’; ‘leigh anne calling out and educating andre.. that’s so strong of her. to show it in the documentary.. no words. just so proud.’;

‘leigh anne’s documentary was so eye opening- i knew about the colurism and racism in the industry but to that extent is crazy- i love how she addressed as much as she could including andre’s past racist tweets too [sic]’.

Other elements of the show left viewers in tears as they praised the singer for her ‘educational’ and ‘powerful’ programme.

During the documentary, the singer got emotional as she shared her experience with racism and how she has been ‘treated differently’ to her Little Mix band mates. 

Leigh-Anne also met with Sugababes’ Keisha Buchanan, Alexandra Burke, Nao and Raye as they discussed racism within the music industry. 

Taking to Twitter after it aired, viewers demanded that Race, Pop & Power should win a National Television Award, like Leigh-Anne’s former bandmate Jesy Nelson did with her 2019 BBC documentary Odd One Out. 

One person said: ‘Leigh is just amazing and this doc better win a NTA its just as inspiring and educational. This has just scratched the surface and its making people have that conversation. #Racepopandpower #weloveyouleighanne.’

A different fan put: ‘I’m beyond proud of you Leigh. I’m watching the documentary rn and I’m already crying. I love you with all my heart and you’re the most strongest woman ever ❤️ @LittleMix #LeighAnnePinnock #RacePopandPower.’

Another viewer said: ‘Watching #LeighAnnePinnock #RacePopandPower and this documentary is so powerful and important.’  

A different account said: ‘Proud of Leigh and the other women featured for sharing their stories #RacePopAndPower.’ 

Another follower put: ‘Glad Leigh-Anne brought Alexandra and Keisha on to speak, especially as they’ve been through and experienced these issues as black women in the music industry #Racepopandpower.’ 

During the documentary, Leigh-Anne recalled how, from the moment she starred on The X Factor, ‘things felt a bit off’ and has been ‘treated differently’ from her Little Mix band mates over the past decade, purely because of her skin colour. 

Leigh-Anne, who filmed the documentary over the past year, said she felt like the ‘token black girl’ in the band and that her skin colour was being used ‘to define my image within the group’.  

The songstress propelled to fame when she starred on the 2011 series of The X Factor with Jesy Nelson, who has since left the band, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards, with Little Mix going on to be crowned winners. 

Leigh-Anne said: ‘Before we even signed a record deal things began to feel a bit off. 

‘On the The X Factor when they dyed my hair red and shaved it, it made me look like “the Rihanna”. 

‘I was 20 at the time and I guess a bit naive. Looking back it was clear my colour was being used to define my image within the group. Those things when I think back to it, I’m just like “wow”.’ 

Leigh-Anne said prior to this she had only experienced racism one time at primary school when a boy handed her a note which said: ‘”Name: Leigh-Anne. Age: nine. From: the jungle”.’

‘I was devastated. I had never been made to feel like I didn’t belong before. It turned out I wouldn’t be made to feel like that again until my life changed overnight a decade later,’ she said. 

As their fame grew, the BRIT Award winner said she began to notice how the others were idolised by fans more than her. 

She recalled: ‘I did a radio show tour. We got off the plane and there were some fans standing waiting for us. I was the first to walk up to them and they just walked past me and went to the other girls.  

‘All these little feelings, just built up, built up, built up. It was something that I could never fully explain. I felt invisible and like people would just look past me.

‘For the next decade I was in a pop bubble with all the success I had ever dreamed of. All that matters is that feeling that doesn’t go away. It keeps hurting and hurting and wondering “is it my colour?”.  

‘I just wanted to be on that same level and nothing I did would get me there.’  

Leigh-Anne, who is of Caribbean heritage, also addressed colourism – when a lighter-skinned person is favoured over a darker-skinned person due to the shade of their skin. 

She questioned if ‘I was a few shades darker, would I still be in the band?’ and became emotional when she was flooded with cruel comments from trolls saying she wasn’t ‘black enough’ to host the documentary. 

During the programme, the singer visited her parents – Deborah and John – and broke down in tears as she said of her career: ‘I was carrying a lot.    

‘I never felt good enough. I felt it was ruining my experience which should have been the best time of my life. It’s just f**king frustrating.’

To which her father said: ‘Life is not about having loads of money or this or that, if you’re not feeling right in yourself… you’re not going to feel right, are you?’ 

Leigh-Anne’s parents added that it was ‘difficult’ as they didn’t know what they could have said to make her ‘feel better’.   

The star said she was constantly told “it’s in your head” and believed if she improved her vocals, spoke more in interviews and ‘better herself’ she wouldn’t feel less like the ‘least favourable, the least desired’. 

She tearfully said: ‘It still wasn’t enough. I just want to know is that racist or is that in my head?’ 

After Leigh-Anne posted a powerful video about the Black Lives Matter movement and attended a protest in London, a number of singers in the industry got in touch about their experiences of racism. 

The singer met Sugababes’ Keisha Buchanan, Alexandra Burke, Nao and Raye. 

Keisha, 36, said she is still in therapy as she claimed she was forced out of Sugababes over ‘bullying’. 

She said: ‘When I was about to exit the group Sugababes, I don’t know if people know this but I didn’t actually leave but I was replaced while still being in the band. 

‘I remember being sat down and told “this person feels bullied, that one there feels bullied” and I was like “I was giving that one a foot massage legit the day before”.  

‘If I had an opinion it was very much like “okay, you’re being a bully”. That was the word. That whole situation changed the course of my life. It affected me emotionally, mentally, financially.’ 

Keisha told Leigh-Anne how she still has confidence issues and it’s taken her years to process the situation. 

Former The X Factor winner Alexandra, 32, meanwhile recalled through tears: ‘I got told, “You need to bleach your skin because you won’t sell any records”. 

That’s what is so f**ked up about this industry and that is what makes me feel, at times, where I go: “I don’t want to be in this industry.” They took my confidence away so much that I couldn’t be me.’ 

Leigh-Anne said that she felt she had a ‘responsibility’ to use her voice to speak out, although she admitted that she does ‘get scared’ in case she says the ‘wrong thing’.

She added: ‘I am human, I’d rather say something, maybe not entirely right, than say nothing!’ 

Although the star revealed that not everyone had been supportive towards her documentary as she lamented how ‘toxic’ social media can be.

Leigh-Anne even admitted that some of the criticism had left her questioning whether she was even the ‘right person to make this film’.      

Elsewhere during the documentary, the star’s band member Jade, 28, also spoke about how at the age of 18 she hid her Yemini heritage because: ‘I knew being white meant you had an easier ride.’

She continued: ‘I thought, “If you see me as white, I’m not going to stand you know scream in your face that I’m not because I know there’s privilege that comes with that”.’ 

Of the racism she experienced, Jade said: ‘At school I used to get pinned down in the toilets, have bleach powder thrown at us, have bindi marks put on us, which again, is so ridiculous because I’m Arab so why are you putting a bindi on us for?   

‘At 18 I moved to London I became… I do feel guilty, that I spent so long not talking about it.’

Jade also said how the pair of them wanted nose jobs for ages because their faces had been Photoshopped in a magazine shoot. 

‘I remember for ages we both wanted nose jobs , which is f*****g insane now.

‘It’s so ridiculous but that stemmed from our first ever magazine shoot and there I was with my whole face completely Photoshopped, my nose had changed.

‘From that moment I thought: “Oh my God, to be beautiful and glamorous you have to uphold this image of basically looking as white as possible”.’

Sharing her support for her bandmate, Jade sweetly said: ‘I can’t stress it enough, I am so proud of you.’  

Leigh-Anne then battled to have a meeting with her record label Sony to talk about the lack of diversity in the industry and, after being knocked back a few times, felt encouraged when they agreed to bring in more people of colour to work with Little Mix.  

The songstress has launched a foundation to fund internships and mentor schemes for black people of all ages entering the creative industries. 

She said: ‘I don’t want the next girl in pop to feel like how I’ve felt. This is just the beginning. I’m a fighter.’ 

Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now