Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello has apologized after Internet sleuths revealed old posts showing her using racial slurs on social media, saying she is “deeply ashamed” of the ignorance of her teen years.
Cabello issued the apology in response to a Twitter thread exposing racially insensitive content from a Tumblr blog she curated between 2012 and 2013. The thread, titled “Exposing Camila Cabello’s racist and downright disturbing Tumblr reblogs,” includes multiple jokes about black people and fried chicken, memes with racial slurs, and a joke about pop star Chris Brown’s assault of Rihanna.
“When I was younger, I used language that I’m deeply ashamed of and will regret forever,” she wrote on Instagram. “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,” she continued. “I would never intentionally hurt anyone and I regret it from the bottom of my heart.”
The former Fifth Harmony singer went on to explain how much she has grown up since she was a teenager on social media.
“I’m 22 now, I’m an adult and I’ve grown and learned and am conscious and aware of the history and the pain it carries in a way I wasn’t before. Those mistakes don’t represent the person I am or a person I’ve ever been.
“I only stand and have ever stood for love and inclusivity, and my heart has never, even then, had an ounce of hate or divisiveness. The truth is I was embarrassingly ignorant and unaware. I use my platform to speak out against injustice and equality and I’ll continue doing that.”
Cabello has indeed repeatedly used her platform to promote her progressive ideas. Last year, she took to the stage at the Grammy Awards to deliver a pro-illegal immigration speech, declaring that America was “built by dreamers” and “for dreamers.”
Her apology also comes just four months after singer Shawn Mendes, who she collaborated with on the hit song “Señorita,” similarly apologized for racially insensitive tweets he wrote when he was a teenager.
“I posted some racially insensitive comments on social media when I was younger, and I am so sorry,” he said. “I apologize wholeheartedly for what was said [and] understand how offensive those posts were. There is no place for comments like that, and those words do not represent who I am. I stand for complete inclusivity, equality, [and] love.”
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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