Rochelle Humes recalls trying to ‘scrub her skin off’ as a child after experiencing racism
‘We still live in a world where racism is normalised and accepted,’ says singer
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Rochelle Humes has recalled how she tried to “scrub her skin off” as a child after being subjected to racial abuse.
The This Morning presenter opened up about her experiences of racism alongside husband Marvin Humes in a trailer for Channel 4’s upcoming documentary The Talk.
The programme, which will air on Tuesday evening, sees celebrities discuss how they have been affected by racism in the UK.
In the short teaser trailer for the documentary, Rochelle can be seen crying while sitting next to her husband.
“My legs were red, because I’d tried to scrub my skin off,” Rochelle said.
“I’m not upset for me, I’m just upset because I think my little girl is the same age. I just don’t know how I would handle that.’’
The former Saturdays singer, who shares daughters Alaia-Mai and Valentina with Marvin, shared the clip on her Instagram and said that talking part in the documentary had been “overwhelming”.
“Opening up about racism and my challenges was overwhelming as it reminded me that we still live in a world where racism is normalised and accepted,” she wrote in the caption.
“I don’t want my children growing up in a world where they think that their heritage and skin colour could be judged negatively. That’s why I was so emotional, not for me, but for every child or person who has been made to feel like they were not enough because of their skin colour.”
She added: “So I allowed myself to open up and be vulnerable about this topic publicly to help support others through shared experience and also educate people on the lasting impact racism and discrimination can have on people.”
Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock will also star in the documentary alongside her parents.
In her interview, she said: “I got told,’You’re the black girl, you’ve got to work 10 times harder’.
“I just wish that I knew more back then, I just wish that I was more educated on this and I knew that, yeah, your race will hold you back a little bit.
“I just wish I knew that so I could prepare myself.”
The Talk airs Tuesday 4 August on Channel 4 at 10pm.
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