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Just a few weeks ago we were cracking up about Camila Cabello's brutal honesty, but today she had to be honest about something very serious: the racist language she used on an old Tumblr account. "When I was younger, I used language that I’m deeply ashamed of and will regret forever,” Camila shared on Twitter (see the full post below) after screenshots from seven years ago started to circulate on social media. “I was uneducated and ignorant and once I became aware of the history and the weight and the true meaning behind this horrible and hurtful language, I was deeply embarrassed I ever used it.”

Camila went on to say that she wishes she could take it all back. “As much as I wish I could, I can’t go back in time and change things I said in the past," she opened up. "But once you know better, you do better and that’s all I can do.”

"I’m 22 now,” she continued. “I’m an adult and I’ve grown and learned and am conscious and aware of the history and the pain it carries in a way I wasn’t before.”

Many fans are rallying around Camila, thanking her for her sincerity, but there's also a lesson to be learned here: While apologies certainly matter in these situations, they don't erase the hurt that may have been inflicted in the first place. It's fair to assume that there are Camila fans out there who read the language and were personally affected by it. Those scars can run deep, so the best thing to do is to continue to educate yourself and others so that these incidents don't happen in the first place. You can vow to read more books and essays from authors of a different race than yours, or you can set aside time to talk to your younger siblings, cousins or neighbors about race. 

For her part, Camila is confident that her ignorant days are behind her. “These mistakes don’t represent the person I am or [the] person I’ve ever been," she said. "I only stand and have ever stood for love and inclusivity and my heart has never, even then, had an ounce of hate or divisiveness.”

Check out Camila's full tweet below, then tell us: What do you do to educate yourself about other races and cultures?

by Jacqueline F. | 12/18/2019