Fleur East spoke to Lorraine Kelly on Good Morning Britain on Thursday about losing her beloved father, Malcolm, at the start of lockdown.
The singer, 32, revealed the sad news about her dad in March and shared a sweet photo of them together, writing: ‘I will forever continue to make you proud.’
She told Lorraine: ‘It was just at the start of lockdown, this whole global pandemic has been so surreal for so many different reasons, it almost doesn’t feel like it happened.
‘I haven’t been able to deal with it, it’s very difficult’: Fleur East discussed the pain of losing her father Malcolm during an appearance on GMB on Thursday
Heartbroken: Malcolm (pictured) sadly passed away in March and Fleur said the whole thing is ‘surreal’ and ‘almost doesn’t feel like it happened’
‘I haven’t been able to deal with it in the real world yet. It’s been very, very difficult.’
Malcolm’s cause of death has not been revealed. Fleur spoke about how her parents had taught her about race from a young age.
She said: ‘I remember being raised by my parents, my father was white my mother was black, and I learned about the slave trade and British empire from my father, both of my parents taught me to celebrate my race.
‘It’s a shame those conversations and lessons aren’t taught.’
Fleur also discussed the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.
She said: ‘It’s interesting, I think there’s a sense of people jumping “on a bandwagon” and that it’s become a “trend” to speak out about this.
‘But for me, and a lot of people in the black community, this isn’t a new conversation, these conversations have been happening behind closed doors for years and it’s just now we’re at a time when the door is open and we’re feeling more confident and more empowered to speak out.’
Touching: In a moving statement posted at the time, Fleur praised her father for ‘cheering her on till the end’
The signer posted a rap on Instagram inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
She said: ‘I did it in the best way I know how – using my music to spread the message.
‘I’ve had a lot of school teachers contact me and say that they’ve used it in the curriculum… which is incredible!’
Talking about the death of George Floyd on May 25, at the hands of police, she saidL ‘The death of George Floyd is such a sad incident – terrible, horrific.
Fleur said: ‘My father was white my mother was black, and I learned about the slave trade and British empire from my father, both of my parents taught me to celebrate my race’
‘That has now been the catalyst for people to speak on issues that have been in existence for hundreds and hundreds of years and we’re still facing today.
‘You don’t have to be black or part of the black community to stand up against racial injustice.
‘We’re part of the human race, we’re all brothers and sisters. And anything that you can see that affects your brother or sister, should affect you.’
Fleur recently revealed that she was advised to straighten her hair to be a success in the music industry.
She told Lorraine: ‘You don’t have to be black or part of the black community to stand up against racial injustice’
She told Lorraine: ‘It’s hard to believe now. I was literally told my natural hair was distracting, unruly and it wasn’t marketable and wasn’t going to sell.
‘I think one of the few people that I looked up to was Mel B in the Spice Girls. I saw her wearing her curls, wearing her natural afro hair out proudly, that encouraged me to embrace my natural hair and to celebrate that.
‘It’s so important to have representation and diversity in the media, in the workforce, in so many different places.
‘No one’s born racist. It all starts in the home. I learnt about racism in my household… Both my parents taught me to celebrate my race, my heritage. It’s such a shame those same lessons aren’t taught in every household. “It starts with the younger generation, they’re the future.’
Fleur recently celebrated her first wedding anniversary with husband Marcel Badiane-Robin.
She said: ‘We’re in lockdown, so quite limited. I made a makeshift den in our living room. We got into the den, had some champagne, looked at our wedding pictures and talked about our future plans.’
She added: ‘No one’s born racist. It all starts in the home. I learnt about racism in my household… Both my parents taught me to celebrate my race, my heritage’