Jamelia says 'being black' was to blame for her Loose Women backlash as she slams its lack of diversity

22 February 2019, 17:09 | Updated: 24 February 2019, 08:36

Outspoken pop star Jamelia has criticised ITV for being 'unsupportive' during the backlash...

Jamelia thinks being 'the only black one' put her at a disadvantage on the Loose Women panel, and believes her race played a part in her sacking.

The 38-year-old singer infamously caused outrage over her comments on plus-sized clothing and was subsequently axed as a regular panelist.

Now Jamelia has slammed ITV for their 'lack of support' in the wake of the backlash, claiming more empathy has been afforded to her white co-stars who have also expressed divisive opinions in the past.

She told Heart Online: "I'm not going to beat around the bush, I think when you are black and you are in the public eye and you are being vocal and speaking out on issues - you are not ordinarily allowed to have certain conversations.

"When it was the 'plus-size comments' I didn't say anything different to the rest of the panel - the only thing different was that I was black.

"It recently happened again when we were speaking about over 70's voting, we all had the same opinion on the panel but I was the only one who was singled out."

Speaking about her treatment following the backlash, Jamelia slammed the show's producers for not being supportive enough, claiming diversity is not their 'priority'.

Read more: Jamelia - 'I stand by my Loose Women plus-sized comments'

"I think more could be done in the aftermath, I felt very unsupported after I received the backlash in the paper. The diversity on the show could definitely be helped, but I think what they have shown over the years is that diversity is not a priority for them - that's not what they want and the audience don't want it either."

Heart Online have contacted ITV for comment.

Meanwhile, Jamelia insists she does not regret any of her controversial comments, adding: "It's very important to be bold and brave, in particular as a mother of daughters, I want to teach them that they have to say what they think even if it affects them adversely. I don't mind that it's affected me financially, because emotionally I feel as though I'm living in my truth."