On Wednesday, Cuban-American pop icon Camila Cabello issued an official apology for previously using “horrible and hurtful language” on social media.
The Havana singer was met with a mass wave of backlash from cynics and offended supporters alike earlier this week after a series of controversial Tumblr posts published when she was a teenager resurfaced to the public.
Not only did Cabello, 22, use racially-insensitive language in some of her own since-deleted posts, but she also shared a variety of derogatory memes to her account which played on common racial stereotypes.
After being called out for her “uneducated and ignorant” behaviour by thousands of users on various social media platforms, Cabello shared a lengthy statement apologizing for the posts.
She attributed her actions to being “embarrassingly ignorant and unaware” in her adolescence.
“When I was younger,” wrote Cabello in the post, “I used language that I’m deeply ashamed of and will regret forever. I was uneducated and ignorant, and once I became aware of the history, the weight, and the true meaning behind this horrible and hurtful language, I was deeply embarrassed I ever used it.”
The musician added: “I apologized then and I apologize again now. I would never intentionally hurt anyone and I regret it from the bottom of my heart.
“As much as I wish I could,” she continued, “I can’t go back in time and change things I said in the past. But once you know better, you do better, and that’s all I can do.”
“Those mistakes don’t represent the person I am or a person I’ve ever been,” she concluded.
“I only stand and have ever stood for love and inclusivity, and my heart has never, even then, had any ounce of hate or divisiveness.”
Cabello’s apology, for the most part, was not received well over social media. Many continued to brand her as a “racist,” and many questioned how she could be so “ignorant” as a teenager.
“The stuff Camila Cabello shared online is nothing short of FRIGHTENING,” tweeted one user.
“It’s horrific and no amount of apologies can make up for a mentality like that. I’m not even sure a mentality like the can fully change,” they concluded.
Here’s what some more Twitter users had to say:
https://twitter.com/reydior/status/1207533344642220034
Though the majority of response was negative, some dedicated fans of Cabello weighed in to defend the singer, saying that she should be forgiven after acknowledging her youthful mistakes.
Here’s what they had to say:
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