Tyrese says he never felt ‘handsome, attractive’ as a child due to colorism: ‘I was called every joke’
Tyrese opens up about how jokes based in colorism impacted him as a child
In a new interview, Tyrese Gibson shares how colorism impacted his self-esteem as a child.
As a guest on TV One’s Uncensored, the Sweet Lady singer opened up on the jokes he faced due to his skin tone throughout his childhood. The actor runs down a list of names he was called for being dark-skinned.
“I had never felt a piece of handsome, I had never felt a piece of being cute. I have never heard compliments throughout my childhood. I never got any attention from the ladies,” he revealed.
“I caught every joke in the dark skin community ever. I was Black, burnt, tarp. I was all teeth and eyes. I was ‘blurple’, black and purple. I just never felt attractive, ever.”
Read More: Tyrese blasted by Jamie Foxx and others for ‘reverse racism’ posts
For Tyrese, his success as an actor, singer and overall public figure has helped boost the confidence he did not have while growing up.
“After I had that moment, it did more for my confidence than you could ever imagine because it was a high that I would hope to experience for the rest of my life,” the Fast And Furious franchise star said.
The singer also shared details on Sweet Lady, and how the hit record came to life although it almost did not.
“Anthony [Morgan] played a song for me called ‘Sweet Lady,’ and I said to Anthony Morgan, I don’t like it.”
The 41-year-old star also spoke about his relationship with his wife, fatherhood, memories with the late John Singleton, and more.
Uncensored debuted September 13 with Tyrese’s episode and the season will feature Eve, Jenifer Lewis, Omari Hardwick, Debbie Allen and more.
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