Lady Leshurr came out as pansexual after being betrayed by someone close to her.
The Dancing on Ice star, real name Melesha O’Garro, was outed publicly in a malicious manner when her ex posted a number of tweets back in 2018.
“The way she outed me was quiet malice and she tried to out someone else out in the tweet as well and I don’t think it was respectful at all, it was really mean,” the rapper told Gay Times .
“The thing is, people actually knew we were going out, it was just never confirmed.
“Initially, I thought I could ignore what she’s tweeted about me and just pretend like nothing’s happened and simply carry on doing my music, but then I thought no, I’m gonna actually turn this negative into a positive.
“I’ve grown so much since then and I learned from that whole situation.”
(Image: Getty Images for Bauer Media)
Leshurr was surprised that more people didn’t realise due to some of the lyrics she had previously used in her songs.
This included, ‘I kissed a girl and I liked it ting, I take your girl and I wife it ting’ in her first Queen’s Speech freestyle which was released in 2015.
The 2016 MOBO Award winner for Best Female Act admitted that some people close to her changed how they behaved towards her after she came out.
a bit funny with me. I was shocked and I quickly learnt that all that meant was that those people were not meant to be in my life,” she said.
“If you can’t take me for who I am then you can leave. At the end of the day I’m not going to stop being myself. The whole situation showed me who was real and who wasn’t, who was meant to be around me and who didn’t deserve my time and energy.”
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Lady Leshurr put a powerful statement on Instagram to let people know that she was pansexual, which means to have attraction whether sexual, emotional or romantic feelings towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity.
“I’m just happy that I don’t have to hide anything anymore, I am free. In life you have to tell the truth, you have to feel comfortable in your own skin and now I feel so comfortable in my own skin,” she said.
Admitting her sexuality doesn’t define her, she added: “Life is all about growth, just developing and understanding yourself and being more confident.
“I understand feeling trapped, I understand feeling like you can’t be yourself. If you want to come out, you have to come out yourself. It’s not anybody’s place to out someone.”
While Leshurr was disappointed by some of the reaction around her, she was delighted with the incredible support she received from the public.
“I didn’t think me officially saying ‘I like girls and guys’ would result in so many people telling me how proud they were of me,” she said.
The rapper was flooded from support from fans saying they wanted to follow in her footsteps.
“People are looking up to me like ‘Wow, you’ve done it – now I can do it.’ That’s what I love the most about helping others,” she added.
“Just seeing others come out and be confident and comfortable in their own skin, because I took that step”.
Having lost her sister to breast cancer, Lady Leshurr has vowed to push herself while competing on the show.
“I recently lost my sister to breast cancer and that’s really made me think I need to push myself, I need to challenge myself, to get my confidence back,” she said.
“Doing TV work feels like a breath of fresh air. I did MasterChef and I couldn’t cook but I went on it because I wanted to push myself and learn. I think everything is all about learning.
“I’ve always wanted to skate. Even though I’ve been petrified and could never do it with my mates.
“Now, I’m not even telling my mates I’m doing it. I’m just going to be like ‘turn the TV on’ and they’ll be like what the hell?!
“I love the thought of the benefits from this too. Afterwards I’ll be able to skate, one day I’m going to be teaching my kids and my little nieces and nephews to skate.
“That’s what I see in this show – learning and taking something from it.”
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/dancing-ices-lady-leshurr-treated-23450441