Normani Kordei and Camila Cabello have been through a lot as former members of the girl group Fifth Harmony. But not everything they have endured has been a success. Normani openly discussed in a new interview with Rolling Stone, published on Feb. 28, how hurt she was when Camila’s past racist comments resurfaced online in December 2019. “It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me,” she revealed. “It took days for her to acknowledge what I was dealing with online and then years for her to take responsibility for the offensive tweets that recently resurfaced. Whether or not it was her intention, this made me feel like I was second to the relationship that she had with her fans.”
Camila apologized on Dec. 18 via Twitter for the racist messages she posted as a teenager. In the apology, Camila said that her language was “horrible and hurtful” and that she was “deeply ashamed” for her past actions. “When I was younger, I used language that I’m deeply ashamed of and will regret forever,” she told her fans and followers. “I was uneducated and ignorant and once I became aware of the history and the weight and the true meaning behind this horrible and hurtful language, I was deeply embarrassed I ever used it. I apologized then and I apologize again now.”
But for Normani, she really wants to see more beyond Camila’s apology. “I don’t want to say that this situation leaves me hopeless because I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for personal growth,” Normani continued. “I really hope that an important lesson was learned in this. I hope there is genuine understanding about why this was absolutely unacceptable.”
Along with her star power as a performing artist, Normani wanted to remind her dedicated fans, especially her fans of color, how vital they are and their culture is. “To my brown men and women, we are like no other. Our power lies within our culture. We are descendants of an endless line of strong and resilient kings and queens. We have been and will continue to win in all that we do simply because of who we are. We deserve to be celebrated, I deserve to be celebrated and I’m just getting started.”