Honey G: ‘I left The X Factor on a high note’
The Jewish rapper, whose real name is Anna Georgette Gilford, was voted off the show on Sunday evening
Honey G said she thinks she left The X Factor singing competition on a high note and “went out with a bang”.
The controversial rapper – who was labelled by many as a novelty act in this year’s competition – lost her place on the ITV show after a sing-off against trio 5 After Midnight.
The Jewish singer, whose real name is Anna Georgette Gilford, failed to impress as she performed Tupac Shakur’s California Love which featured her trademark “When I say honey, you say G” chant.
Talking to ITV’s Lorraine Kelly, she said: “I kind of feel like I went out with a bang. I really did do my best this weekend and I felt I gave it my all on the sing-off, so I think I’ve gone out on quite a positive note.”
Speaking to Jewish News last week, the rap artist explained that she had faced anti-Semitism, and rejected claims she is ‘raping’ black culture.
She told the paper, “for people to say to me that I’m raping black culture actually feels like it’s them discriminating. They’ve got a problem with a white person rapping. The people who’ve come out and insulted me are not exactly spokespeople for the black community. No one’s said, ‘I’m speaking on behalf of the black community.’ These people are just haters, they’re never going to get anywhere with preaching hate. It’s literally ridiculous. The most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my entire life.”
Speaking of her experiences with anti-Semitism, she said: “I’ve experienced it the whole of my life. When I was growing up people used to make fun of me, referring to me as a ‘Jewish princess’ or talking to me about me looking Jewish, having a Jewish nose, you know. It’s quite insulting.”
During Saturday night’s show she was confronted by a man rushing on to the stage following her performance. A prankster group called Trollstation later took credit for the stage invasion.
The rapper explained that X Factor boss Simon Cowell had checked on her immediately following the incident.
“He wanted to see if I was OK, he just asked me if I was alright. I said: ‘Yeah, don’t worry Simon, I’m fine,'” she explained.
Honey has faced a backlash as critics have questioned her seriousness as a musical act.
She told Lorraine: “Well, basically I’ve come from a musical background. My mum is a pianist. I’ve got a degree in music production and composition. I’ve been producing music for about 15 to 20 years, and I’ve been rapping for about four or five years.”
The rap artist praised her mentor, Sharon Osbourne, who is also Jewish, for supporting her throughout the show.
“Sharon is probably one of the most unbelievable people I’ve ever met,” she said.
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