While the 'Bad Boys' hitmaker refuses to name names, she admits that she has been told by industry people she would 'need to work 10 times harder' because of her skin tone.
- Aug 10, 2021
AceShowbiz - Alexandra Burke was allegedly asked to bleach her skin after her time on "The X Factor U.K.".
The singer won the fifth series of Simon Cowell's TV talent franchise in 2008 but, after topping the charts and performing with her hero Beyonce Knowles, she tells The Guardian a "certain person on the creative side" suggested she alter her skin tone.
Although Alexandra didn't reveal names, she recalled, "I started getting comments like: 'Because you're black, you won't get that far. Because you're black, you need to work 10 times harder.' "
"Industry people were saying it as well as Joe Bloggs [general people]," she insisted, adding, "The remarks came quite often and were difficult to digest."
Following her appearance on 2017's series of ballroom show "Strictly Come Dancing", Alexandra parted ways with her management company after they reportedly told her to "smile more" otherwise nobody would "warm" to her.
Recalling an incident at The London Palladium, where she was due to perform in honor of late entertainer Bruce Forsyth, the "Bad Boys" hitmaker said bosses from her former record label Decca forced her to change her styling because she looked "aggressive."
"I had my hair in a bun, with a couple of baby hairs. It was classic, classy; I had a black dress on," she remembered. "Half an hour before I was due on stage, my hairstylist came up to me and said: 'I've just been told you look quite aggressive with this hairstyle. We need to change it.' "
"I said: 'What?' and he said: 'Your record label's just told me you look aggressive, so we have to change it,' " added Alexandra, revealing it was the baby hairs stuck to her head that caused the issue.
Her comments come after the singer released a video to Instagram last June (2020), in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, in which she opened up about the racism she encountered throughout her career.
