Grammy Award-winning South African singer Tyla has addressed the controversy surrounding her racial identity, affirming she has not rejected her black heritage.
The debate over Tyla’s ethnicity sparked in 2020 after a TikTok video where she expressed pride in her mixed heritage, referring to herself as a “proud coloured South African woman.” This term, which carries different connotations in the United States due to its historical use during segregation, led to confusion and backlash from African Americans.
In South Africa, the term “coloured” is used to describe mixed-race individuals, a classification stemming from the country’s history of apartheid. Tyla, who has Irish, Indian, and Zulu ancestry, identifies as “coloured” within this context.
During a recent interview on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne the God, Tyla avoided discussing this sensitive topic, leading to mixed reactions on social media.
Tyla later clarified on her social media account that she embraces all aspects of her mixed heritage and understands the term’s varying significance around the world. She stated that while she is considered “coloured” in South Africa, she may be identified as black elsewhere, acknowledging the cultural differences in racial classification.