Bailey spoke out last month in response to someone claiming she had a “pregnancy nose,” while also pointing out that this was not the first time she has heard a remark about her nose. “If I see one more person say something about my nose one more time, it’s gonna be hell to pay,” she said. “And you know why? ‘Cause I am Black. I love my nose. [What are you] concerned about my nose for? Leave me the hell alone!”
After receiving her Gen Z game-changer award at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in October, the 23-year-old opened up in her acceptance speech about trying to adapt to a life consistently under a microscope.
“It’s been an adjustment to live my life under the scrutiny of that spotlight, but in the age of social media in some way, we all live under that same scrutiny — from our bodies, what our bodies look like from what we wear to who we love to the things we care about, it’s all open to scrutiny,” she said, as transcribed by People.
Public scrutiny towards Bailey dates back to 2019 when racists complained about her being cast as Ariel in the live-action film The Little Mermaid. The singer and actress took the high road at the time, saying she was not paying attention to the negativity.
Bailey will star in The Color Purple, a musical version of the 1985 movie of the same name, which is scheduled to be released in theaters on Dec. 25.
