Jamelia's Apology Could Have Been Better

After the British singer-songwriter Jamelia voiced her opinion on plus sizes being sold in high end retail stores on Monday's episode of Loose Women (her consensus: they shouldn't be), she faced a lot of backlash on social media — and rightfully so. Feeling the heat, Jamelia defended her plus-size clothing comments on Good Morning Britain Wednesday, but it’s pretty obvious to anyone watching that this so-called apology was heavily forced. Women can smell bullshit from a mile away, and the whiff coming from Jamelia’s direction seemed strong to some. Bustle has reached out to the singer for comment and will update if she responds.

Jamelia began her apology by clarifying, “I didn't make it clear on the show that I was talking about extremes, I was talking about above size 20 and below size six, those sizes being available en masse.” Note: A European size 20 is an American size 18, and a European size 6 is an American size 2. The average sized woman in America is a size 14.

What is concerning is Jamelia’s mindset of size being equivalent to health, originally stating, prior to her apology, “I think everyone should have access to lovely clothes, but I do not think it’s right to facilitate people living an unhealthy lifestyle.” Jamelia continued, “It shouldn’t be normalized in high street stores. They should have specialist shops.”

To me, this sounds like Jamelia is saying that if a woman is above or below the size range Jamelia deems “healthy” then that person should have to shop elsewhere to learn some sort of body shaming lesson. Many others on the Internet agree with me, taking to Twitter to express their offense at her comments.

Jamelia went on to say she feels horrible that she offended anyone in the first place. However, her efforts to clear up her statement are a bit contradictory. She may have apologized for how she presented her opinions, but she did not refute the original comments.

We can all agree that fat shaming, skinny shaming, body shaming is a terrible issue, and though we all know this, somehow it still exists and is highlighted in the media. The more we put a spotlight on those who body shame and ridicule others who are overweight or underweight, the more it brings attention to the negativity. We need to focus our attention and energy on those who spread self love and body positivity.