Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussain reveals she was rejected from a modelling job as a teenager because ‘black hands don’t sell jewellery’
- Nadiya Hussain, 35, from Luton, reflected on her experience of racism
- Bake Off winner 2015 was once rejected from a job because of her skin colour
- Explained on Instagram how the incident left her feeling embarrassed
Nadiya Hussain has revealed that she experienced racism while interviewing for jobs as a teenager, and was told that she couldn’t work as a hand model because of the colour of her skin.
The 35-year-old from Luton, who is best known for winning Great British Bake Off 2015, recalled on Instagram how she was rejected from a role modelling jewellery.
She said that as a teenager she was invited for an interview after spotting an advert in the newspaper, but when she arrived the panel of white recruiters had already made a decision that ‘black hands don’t sell jewellery’.
‘The room went quiet, the room filled with white faces and white hands. The receptionist stumbled. I sat down while she called someone in. I was met by a women who came and greeted,’ Nadiya explained.
‘I figured it was my turn to show off my hands. She told me: “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were black”.
‘The blood rushed to my face. I was so embarrassed, I was now a deep shade of burgundy,’ Nadia recalled.
Nadiya Hussain (pictured), 35, from Luton, took to Instagram revealing the racial discrimination she experienced as a teenager
Bake Off star explained in a lengthy post that she was turned away from a modelling job because of the colour of her skin
The TV personality continued: ‘I never really thought about my hands, till the colour of the skin that covered them stopped me from getting a job.
‘When you are a teenager, already a little lost, words like this stick.’
Nadiya explained that the incident left her feeling embarrassed because she hadn’t considered that her skin colour could prevent her from getting work.
Gushing about her later success, she continued: ‘Fast forward to my 30s and now my hands are in my cookbooks and in cookery shows, even now I look at them and still I have a seed of doubt embedded telling me that people must be disgusted by the sight of my brown hands.’
Nadiya (pictured) admitted that despite her success, she continues to wonder if people are disgusted by her brown hands
Posting a photograph with her middle fingers up, she added: ‘But as you can see from my second picture, you know how I feel about it now. I use my hands with pride and allow them to grace cookbooks and cookery shows, to hold my children’s hands and stroke their little faces, to cook, to feed… to hold!
‘I have since worked with Swarovski with these very hands, worn their jewellery with pride. When I worked with them they never knew the anxiety I felt at the thought of showcasing my hands, but I did it anyway.
‘We need to start representing with our voices, with our eyes, with our thoughts, with our hearts and with our hands! I am taking ownership back with my hands.’
Nadiya’s (pictured) Instagram post comes after her recent admission that she’s experienced more racism in the past five years of working on TV
The mother-of-three who was raised by Bangladeshi parents, recently revealed that she’s experienced more racism in the last five years of working on TV than at any other time in her life.
Nadiya received a stream of support from her 558,000 Instagram followers, as many admitted they’ve been inspired by her honest account.
One person wrote: ‘I am so sorry that you’ve gone through this, but super proud of you! Colour can never stop you from succeeding in life. God bless you.’
‘You are an amazing and inspiring person every day and every day we should be thankful for you and women like you, who despite going through awful things like that, still stand proud and show us the way!,’ another said.
A third added: ‘That’s right you show them! You’re entirely beautiful and I’m so glad you didn’t allow this painful experience to stop you from moving forward. I think about my teen and how sensitive she is and I just can’t believe how cruel people can be.’
A stream of responses on Instagram showed their support for Nadiya, as many dubbed her an inspiration for people of colour
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