Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei took to social media on Thursday to let fans know that she will soon be leaving Twitter after a slew of attacks from racist Internet trolls.
The hateful bigots crept out of the woodwork after Kordei was accused of taking too long to say something nice about fellow group member Camila Cabello in a recent Facebook Live interview.
Kordei's open letter addressing the backlash from the Facebook Live interview went viral as she defended her words, saying that after four years of being in the group that it's a "shame" that she had to respond to the "foolishness manufactured by those that have absolutely no idea what's going on."
It was this letter that made her the target of racist attacks:
Thoughts. pic.twitter.com/51aZF7zB2O
— Normani Kordei (@NormaniKordei) August 5, 2016
While many of the comments are far too graphic to share, this is just an example of the offensive posts Kordei has to deal with:
6. NOW CAMILIZERS HAVE TAKING IT TO A WHOLE ANOTHER LEVEL WHITH PHOTOSHOPPING NORMANI ON LYNCHED SLAVES AND YALL pic.twitter.com/oMEyW7fwxp
— Tina™ (@Normanidolize) August 6, 2016
Unsurprisingly, seeing stuff like this all over her mentions lead her to make the decision to leave Twitter, saying she "can't subject myself any longer to the hate."
In a second letter, this time addressing the racist backlash, Kordei mentioned the fact that she's "not the first Black female celebrity to deal with this" and that sadly she's sure she "won't be the last." She continued to say that, "Hiding behind a computer and putting people down, especially for their skin color doesn't make you cool, it makes you a coward!"
Read Kordei's entire letter below:
To my fans: pic.twitter.com/7yICp10G5Z
— Normani Kordei (@NormaniKordei) August 7, 2016
Fans showed incredible support, retweeting her message over 35,000 times and adding their own words of love and gratitude for her bravery.
I'm gonna give y'all the biggest hug when I see you Tuesday @Andiluv @NormaniKordei ❤️
— ♛Mar (@CLEkordei) August 7, 2016
Normani, baby go solo please. Let your N girls give you the love you deserve. We appreciate you, we don't underestimate you. @NormaniKordei
— Tina™ (@Normanidolize) August 7, 2016
a list of reasons to love normani kordei pic.twitter.com/PldzyXyBo2
— ♕aleyna (@thick_dinah) August 7, 2016
Cabello also took to Twitter to defend her bandmate:
You don't have to hate on somebody else to support me- I don't appreciate it and it's not what I'm about.. Be kind or move on
— Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) August 6, 2016
It's truly disheartening to see the continued attack of Black female celebrities on social media. Thankfully, Twitter came to Kordei's defense with an incredible outpouring of support.
Hopefully Kordei makes a swift return to Twitter, and the racists who drove her away will be made to suffer consequences for their actions.
(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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