Rebecca Ferguson claims she’s been ‘racially abused’ and ‘threatened’ in candid letter to fans: ‘I will not be silenced’

The former X Factor star wrote a 1,600-word open letter to fans 
Speaking out: Rebecca Ferguson has penned a 1,600-word essay
Tory Ho/Getty
Jennifer Ruby11 May 2018
The Weekender

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Rebecca Ferguson has claimed to have been the victim of “systematic abuse” throughout her career in a candid open letter posted on Twitter.

The former X Factor star, 31, told her followers that she had been “bullied” and “threatened” in a series of shocking allegations against the music industry.

The statement, posted to her official account on Thursday night, was titled “Statement of truth”, and detailed a number of alleged incidents, including being called “black face”.

Insisting that she would “not be silenced”, Ferguson claimed that she had been defrauded and “forced” to sign music contracts, after being told that her career would be over if she refused.

'Bullied': Rebecca Ferguson speaks out
Ian West/PA

Ferguson found fame when she came runner-up on 2010’s X Factor, signing a record deal with Syco and Epic Records at the time and later Columbia Records in the US, but has refused to name who her 'opressors' were.

“I am exercising my human right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression,” she wrote.

“I write this as a statement of truth, and I do so as I believe in justice, truth and I dislike any abuse of power or any system that does not offer equality.

“On the surface, my career would appear to have been at times a dream come true. However, the reality of the abuses I have suffered behind the scenes is a completely different tale and one of abuse, bullying and the total misuse of power.”

The 1,600-word statement went on to claim that she faced racial abuse and poor treatment that left her so ill that she collapsed on stage.

'Abused': Rebecca Ferguson has hit out at the music industry 
Luca V. Teuchmann/Getty

“The oppression had reached its absolute worst when I was called and told I had to do something that compromised my integrity I was requested to do a gig and told: 'They want you because you’re a black face,” she wrote.

“On a separate occasion it was said by the same person at an event in London: 'Black people are only good for entertaining and running, and not for sitting as CEOs of companies.’”

She continued: “Things got worse, and over this period I became very ill I had a physical collapse, and medical staff told me 'your body has given up.’

"I then went on to have tests that showed I had precancerous cells.

"I collapsed three times and started to see and feel myself lose who I was, but still, I felt I had to smile in interviews to maintain how amazing my life was but in actual reality I was unhappy.”

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