Normani has opened up about her past experience as a member of Fifth Harmony and her former bandmate’s resurfaced racist posts.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Normani revealed that she was “hurt” by Camila Cabello’s racist Tumblr posts, which resurfaced last year. The posts were made even more difficult to deal with as Normani had faced constant racial abuse from trolls as a member of Fifth Harmony.
“It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me,” the singer told Rolling Stone. “It was devastating that this came from a place that was supposed to be a safe haven and a sisterhood, because I knew that if the tables were turned I would defend each of them in a single heartbeat. 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.”
Last year, Tumblr posts from a blog that belonged to Cabello resurfaced, which featured a number of racists memes, jokes, and repeated use of the N-word. The singer later apologized for the “embarrassingly ignorant” comments.
“I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart…I would never intentionally hurt anyone and I regret it from the bottom of my heart. … Once you know better, you do better, and that’s all I can do.”
Normani also opened up about other difficulties she faced in the group, including feeling pigeonholed as “the dancer” and having her vocals left off a song.
“I was devastated. So many things start to go through your mind, like, ‘Maybe this is my fault? What could I have done differently? Am I not working hard enough? Am I not as talented? What’s wrong with my voice?'”
The singer has since released her debut single, “Motivation,” and recently collaborated with Megan Thee Stallion on Birds of Prey track “Diamonds.”