Tyla had to take time out of her busy day to hit the record once for her race.
The South African 'Water' singer is riding a wave of success with her hit single and self-titled debut album and is still making the rounds.
During a recent stop at Breakfast Clubwhich becomes your one-stop shop if you need some controversy, the singer deflected a question from host Charlamagne Tha God about past comments about her race.
How did this all start?
The drama stems from the labeling of Tyla as “colored,” which is perfectly normal for non-white, mixed-race citizens from South Africa, but in the states, considered offensive by black Americans.
Many people took to her using the term as her way of “disassociating” herself from her blackness, while embracing a term that is widely viewed as an insult in the United States.
A debate was started by the use of the term, resulting in Charlemagne seeking her opinion on the matter. She punched her team, who told her not to respond to a now-viral clip.
Hours after the clip's fallout, Tyla took to her X, former Twitter account, to address the situation. She stated that she does identify as a black woman and further clarified her use of the term “colored.”
Per The Vibe:
“I never denied my blackness, where it came from,” he began. “I'm mixed with Black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian and Coloured. in South I will be classified as a Colored woman and in other places I will be classified as a black woman. Race is classified differently in different parts of the world.”
The “Jump” artist continued, “I don't expect to be labeled as Colored outside of Southa by anyone who doesn't feel comfortable doing so because I understand the weight of that word outside of SA, but to close this conversation, I'm BOTH Colored in South Africa and a black woman. As a woman for culture. It is and not…with what ASAMBEE said.” See the post below.
The backlash to Tyla using “Colored” just keeps coming
Tyla's initial lack of response to Charlamagne's question and subsequent statement hasn't quelled the social media feud.
Many are defending the 22-year-old musician, while others are taking advantage of the moment to make fun of her.
“It basically says to report her as colored AND a black woman depending on environment, environment and comfort…what some people have been saying since the beginning…and some of you still choose to disagree and wage this diaspora war.” wrote a user on X.
Another user joked using Wayan's brother iconic opening theme song.
We'll file this last minute in the classic social media nonsense folder.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.