The 49-year-old celebrity, however, claimed that she disobeyed the stylist by “dancing as me, with my big hair, my brown skin, and I was totally proud of who I was.”
The singer—who gained notoriety as “Scary Spice”—is among the prominent black British celebrities urging the government to make the UK the first nation in the West to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination against people with afro hair.
In an Instagram statement, Brown talked about her upbringing in working-class Leeds in the 1970s and acknowledged that, as a little girl, she was “singled out” and “got called names” because of her mixed-race ancestry.
She elaborated, saying of her “big, wild, curly hair” that it wasn’t tidy. I used it all up and there was too much to fit into elastic hair bands.”
“The very first video shoot I did as a Spice Girl for Wannabe, the stylists took one look at my hair and told me it had to be straightened,” she continued, describing her debut to the entertainment industry. My large hair defied the stereotype of a pop star.
But with my kids at my side, I held my ground and continued to sing and dance.
