'I personally have never been involved in any racist conversations.'
Doja Cat is speaking out after the hashtag #DojaCatIsOverParty started showing up on Twitter over the weekend.
The rapper-singer, whose given name is Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini, came under fire after she was accused of participating in racist video chats and wrote a song in 2015 called "Dindu Nuffin," a racist slur mocking victims of police brutality.
Late Sunday night, Doja Cat took to Twitter to issue an apology but also denied that she ever personally made racist remarks in a chat room.
"I want to address what’s been happening on Twitter,” she began her statement on Instagram. "I’ve used public chat rooms to socialize since I was a child. I shouldn’t have been on some of those chat room sites, but I personally have never been involved in any racist conversations. I’m sorry to everyone I offended."
Doja Cat, whose father is South African actor Dumisani Dlamini, goes on to explain her reasoning behind making the controversial 2015 song "Dindu Nuffin."
"I’m a black woman. Half of my family is black from South Africa and I’m very proud of where I come from," she wrote. "As for the old song that’s resurfaced, it was in no way tied to anything outside of my own personal experience. It was written in response to people who often used that term to hurt me. I made an attempt to flip its meaning, but recognize that it was a bad decision to use the term in my music."
The 24-year-old musician concluded her post, "I understand my influence and impact and I’m taking this all very seriously. I love you all and I’m sorry for upsetting or hurting any of you. That’s not my character, and I’m determined to show that to everyone moving forward. Thank you."
The controversy comes on the heels of Doja Cat's first song, the "Say So" remix featuring Nicki Minaj, hitting No. 1 on one of the Billboard charts.
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