X Factor stars Little Mix have claimed they were told to ‘flirt with important men’ in order to make it in America.
The 2011 winners of the show have spoken out about sexism in the music industry ahead of the release of their new album.
Little Mix – made up of Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards – triumphed on The X Factor seven years ago now.
And ahead of their fifth studio album LM5 out this Friday, the women have revealed what they’ve had to put up with.
In a new interview, Jade Thirlwall claimed: “We went to a radio event in America, full of VIPs. Someone from the label said, ‘Go and flirt with all those important men.’ I was like, ‘F*** off. Why have I got to go in and flirt to get my song on the radio?'”
“In the beginning, we were told we shouldn’t be involved in our music videos. One producer told us we shouldn’t be writing, we should just be given songs.
“We realised we, as women, have to work ten times as hard, which is really bloody annoying cos we do write songs.”
Meanwhile Leigh-Anne opened up about struggling with racism as the group rose to fame after winning the show.
She told the latest edition of ASOS magazine (via Metro): “During the first couple of years of being in the band, I did feel invisible. I remember crying to my manager regularly. I just couldn’t seem to find my place and didn’t know why. I didn’t feel like I had as many fans as the other girls. It was a strange feeling.
“I never thought that it was because I was the darkest member of the band. I felt overlooked, so I did everything to make myself more noticed, convinced I wasn’t good enough.”
A spokesperson for Little Mix told the Metro newspaper that the allegations related to a radio tour in America where they were being looked after by a US record company.
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