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Following the backlash she received for the snippet she shared of her song “Yellow Bone” last week, singer DaniLeigh posted an apology video in an effort to clarify her intentions and say sorry to those who were “offended” by her lyrics. In the clip, the up-and-coming artist offered a host of excuses as examples for why she shouldn’t be considered a colorist, including her relationship with rapper DaBaby.
Yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 24) via her Instagram account, after explaining how and why she felt her intentions for “Yellow Bone” were misinterpreted, DaniLeigh told users that she identifies herself as a light-skinned, yellow bone, despite things she’s previously posted on social media about her race. As she claims, because there are many other songs celebrating women of brown and darker complexions, she didn’t see what the problem was in creating a song of her own for light-skinned women. In addition to not thinking the lyrics of her song were weighed with colorist ideas, DaniLeigh mentioned that her relationship with DaBaby and her having Black friends should prove that someone’s skin tone isn’t something she even sees.
“Hey guys, it’s DaniLeigh. I just wanted to address what’s going on with me right now,” the singer began. “I think it’s super important ’cause I definitely feel super misunderstood, you know my song, ‘yellow bone that’s what he want.'”
Speaking on claims that the song was her attempt to throw jabs at DaBaby’s ex, MeMe, DaniLeigh continued, “I think people twisted it into thinking I was trying to bash another woman, another skin tone. That was never my intention. I wasn’t brought up like that. I never looked at my skin as a privilege. I ain’t never looked at me as ‘I’m better than somebody because of their skin tone.’ I see brown skin women flaunt their skin all the time in music, why can’t I talk about mine? If you look at me I’m light-skinned, I’m a yellow bone, in my opinion. That’s just what I am so it’s like, it wasn’t something that I looked at so deeply. I can see why people will take it deeply. I understand and I’m sorry that I wasn’t sensitive to the topic.”
“Colorism is a real thing so I do get it, but I’m not that,” the singer added. “I’m not a colorist, I’m not racist, I date a whole chocolate man. I have beautiful dark-skinned friends. Skin isn’t something I even see, it’s not something that I look at, you know?”
Discussing the situation further, DaniLeigh said addressing the backlash was a way for her to express her point of view, especially since listeners don’t know her in real life. After encouraging watchers to hear her apology with an “open heart and genuine mind” so they can leave the situation in the past, she added that moving forward she’s going to focus on herself and continue to keep hustling.
“I don’t live for the internet, I just – because people don’t know me. So that’s why I thought it was important to speak on it because you don’t know me – it’s like let me tell you guys what I meant by that. Hopefully, you guys can watch this with an open heart and genuine mind you know? And just try to get past it. I’m sorry again. If I offended people who are truly offended I am sorry, and I’m just going to keep grinding, keep doing me, keep posting me, and yeah. I hope everybody has a great Sunday. It’s all love.”
DaniLeigh’s apology didn’t come off as the most sincere, mostly because she relied on three problematic excuses for justifications as to why she thought her song was okay, including, “I date a whole chocolate man,” “I have beautiful dark-skinned friends,” and “Skin isn’t something I even see.”
Claiming that she doesn’t see color, but then saying she can’t be a colorist because she has a “chocolate” boyfriend and dark-skinned friends is a paradox. Also, it shows that she still doesn’t understand why people were mad about the song to begin with. If she did see color, she would genuinely understand why and how colorism negatively impacts the Black community and not just claim to understand as she did in her “apology.”
These celebrity “apology videos” never cease to feel tired and disingenuous, especially when they only come after that person has been “canceled” per se or received backlash. It’s clear that DaniLeigh still isn’t understanding why people didn’t react to her song positively. At this point, we’re not sure if her fans will wait around long enough until she does.
