Drag Race UK's A'Whora addresses blackfishing allegations
14 October 2021, 12:51
Drag Race UK's A'Whora shows off custom feather look
"I do have a tan, no this is not injections, no this is not product, neither is it me trying to change the color of my skin or appropriate another race."
RuPaul Drag Race UK's A'Whora has addressed the blackfishing accusations against her in an Instagram post following backlash.
A'Whora, who competed in season 2 of Drag Race UK, recently shared a photo of her at an event with her boyfriend on Instagram, and soon people were commenting on her deep tan. Some accused her of blackfishing, which is when people manipulate their skin colour or facial features in order to appear to Black or racially ambiguous.
A'Whora has now addressed the backlash on her Instagram Stories and explained that her tan is a result of a recent trip abroad. "I'm not allowed to speak on where I have been due to NDA and contract but because I have been filming for three weeks in another country outdoors all day everyday in 32+ degree heat, yes, I do have a tan, no this is not injections, no this is not product, neither is it me trying to change the color of my skin or appropriate another race," she wrote.
READ MORE: Drag Race UK's A'Whora apologises to Veronica Green following comments in fan Q&A
"I can't control this and yes you may all continue to hound me about using SPF and certain sunblock products but due to my skin contain (psoriasis) prior to filming the show I wasn't able to use certain products on my skin in order to enable it to heal."
She added: "I don't feel a need to have to explain but I'm tired of everyone coming for me at any given opportunity to try and tear me down without even giving me a chance, I'm tired of being made to feel like a terrible person each and everyday because you choose to simply not like me for something you've seen on TV or online! However, I am a person and I do have a life beyond everything that you expect me to talk about."
A'Whora then shared images of her psoriasis, which is a skin condition that causes red, flaky patches to appear on the skin. There's no cure for psoriasis, but treatments to improve symptoms and the appearance of skin patches are available. A'Whora revealed she had been using "specialised medical beds" from the hospital to balance out her colouring and aid healing.
"I'm not going to speak anymore on this as I would never do the things being accused of me, my skin is something I only wish would be clear and allow me to feel comfortable on stage, with my partner, when doing shoots and trusting the airbrushing, like this is my personal thing and to have it taken out out of context without anyone knowing my situation is just breaking me," A'Whora explained.
"I can handle your constant hate and negativity towards me but commenting on my appearance from my face to my skin is just becoming too much for me to deal with 24/7."
A'Whora then shared screenshots of people commenting on her tan and cosmetic procedures on Twitter. The trolling had got so bad that A'Whora actually turned off her comments on the image that had started the backlash.
She continued: "I came off Twitter for a reason and yet you still continue to attack me everyday, many of times I do delete comments about 'What the fuck you done to your face' and how I' so 'fucking ugly' but it comes to a point that it just has to stop so today for the first time ever yes I disabled comments and now this is what I get from trying to protect myself and my own mental wellbeing? I honestly give up."
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