Fleur East was told to straighten her natural hair prior to The X Factor

Fleur East was told to straighten her natural hair or risk her pop career before appearing on \'The X Factor\'.

The 32-year-old singer starred on the ITV show back in 2014, and has now revealed she was advised to change her appearance in order to succeed as a musician.

Fleur - who also appeared on \'I\'m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!\' in 2018 - said: "When I went into \'The X Factor\', one thing that I really didn\'t want to compromise on was my hair.

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"That, to me, is a representation of me, my colour and my culture, and I believe that should be celebrated.

"When I went into the jungle a lot of people asked if I was going to braid my hair down, saying I couldn\'t have my Afro out in the jungle. But I wanted to have it out and wear it proudly.

"I\'ve been to shows where backstage I\'ve met young black and mixed race kids whose parents have said, \'Thank you so much Fleur, for wearing your hair proudly and for speaking about your culture and your roots. Because my child has someone to look up to.\' And that is so important.

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"I was in a group before \'X Factor\' and I was told to straighten my hair, that I wouldn\'t be able to sell if I had my natural hair."

But Fleur took inspiration from fellow pop star Mel B, saying it helped her to "love" her hair.

She told HELLO! magazine: "In the music industry growing up there weren\'t a lot of people who didn\'t straighten their hair.

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"That\'s why I loved Mel B in the Spice Girls - she had her Afro and I remember looking at her thinking how amazing it was, and it made me love my hair."