Tan France has something to say about racism in the UK so you might want to sit up and listen up. The Queer Eye star says that racism in the UK is often “brushed under the carpet” and one of the reasons why he doesn’t liv there anymore. Here’s what you need to know.
The fashion designer, 39 was born in Doncaster to Muslim Pakistani parents but now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his husband and young son, Ismail. However, he moved to the US at age 24, mostly because of all the racism he endured back home.
Netflix Star Tan France Says Racism In The UK Is Still A Huge Problem
Tan even opened up about how he bleached his skin at just nine-years-old in an attempt to lighten it. He said he first became aware of his skin tone at around four or five-years-old, and knew “I had to find a way to become lighter.”
Speaking about the difference between colourism and racism, France said: “Colourism is experienced within one race and it is the way of discriminating based on skin tone, so if you’re lighter skinned you’re deemed as more attractive, if you’re darker skinned you’re deemed less attractive and less likely to see success in life.”
France, who gained American citizenship in 2020, also recalled being the victim of racism as a child, describing an incident that saw him beaten up on his way to school aged just five.
“As a child it made it very clear to me that the UK was not a safe space for someone like me and that’s a really weird realization for somebody so young”, he said.
He says he feels racism in the UK is “brushed under the carpet and we pretend it doesn’t exist”, adding “this is the reason why I don’t live in the UK any more.”
He said: “When I heard the Meghan and Harry stuff about the baby’s skin color, it didn’t shock me at all”, adding, “it is the most common question when a South Asian baby is born.”
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