Jade Thirlwall recalls horrific racist attack when bully put bindi on forehead

Jade Thirlwall has recalled a terrifying incident of racist abuse she suffered in school.

The Little Mix singer, who has Egyptian-Yemeni heritage, said a bully once pinned her down in the school toilets and put a bindi spot on her forehead.

She said the horrific attack triggered the eating disorder that she suffered while at school and had a devastating effect on her mental health in general.

Speaking to Vogue Arabia, Jade, 27, said: “During one incident someone pinned me down in the toilets and put a bindi spot on my forehead.

“There was a complete lack of education and understanding of different races and faiths.

“It affected my mental health. I became very depressed and it triggered the eating disorder I had throughout school.”

Jade, who grew up in South Shields, also admitted she put white make-up put on her face in school productions so she would “blend in”.

She said: “Looking back, I realise I experienced microaggressions even as a kid, whether it was being part of musicals in my hometown and having white powder put on my face to blend in with the rest of the cast, or not getting cast at all because there were no people of colour in the musical.

“It wasn’t until I moved to London and into a multicultural environment that I realised how messed up it was.”

Jade said the bullying left her ashamed of her identity.

She continued: “At school, I didn’t fit into any group, and started to experience prejudice and racism. I was one of the very few people of colour in the school, so from the off I felt like an outcast.

“Where I’m from in England, if you weren’t evidently black or white, you were put in this big bowl of one ‘other’ thing.

“I used to get called the P-word, which I didn’t understand as I’m not Pakistani. I was also called half-caste.

“I had suppressed who I was because I wasn’t proud. I had been bullied into thinking I should be ashamed of my identity.”