Tyla reacts to comments about her 'Coloured' heritage

Tyla is making headlines overseas after she refused to answer questions about her heritage. 

Since bursting onto the international music scene with her hit single, 'Water, ' many people—especially in America—have been curious about Tyla's identity.

While most South Africans are familiar with the term "coloured", some people wondered why the 22-year-old didn't call herself black, as being called "coloured" is offensive in the US.

Others even accused her of denying her blackness by referring to herself as coloured. Some also said that because she looked Indian, she should have identified as that. 

During a recent interview on 'The Breakfast Club' - a radio programme that airs in America - Tyla was once again asked about her identity. 

She refused to answer the question, leading to more chatter online.

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The exchange between Tyla and Charlamagne tha God started yet another debate about Tyla's heritage. 

She decided to set the record straight after the interview. 

"Yho guys. I have never denied my blackness, idk where that came from," she wrote in a post shared on her Instagram Story.

The Grammy Award-winner, whose full name is Tyla Laura Seethal, explained why she is considered coloured in South Africa.

"I'm mixed with black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian and coloured. In Southa I would be classified as a Coloured woman and other places I would be classified as a black woman. Race is classified differently in different parts of the world," she wrote.

Tyla, whose parents are Sharleen and Sherwin Seethal, said she hopes this will end this discussion.

"I don't expect to be identified as Coloured outside of Southa by anyone not comfortable doing so because I understand the weight of that word outside of SA, but to close this conversation, I'm both Coloured in South Africa and a black woman."

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Tyla's fans praised her for refusing to comment about her heritage on 'The Breakfast Club'. 

"Good on Tyla and her team for shutting that BS down. She’s already talked about it in other interviews, but people still just want a little sound bite that they can clip. It’s not her job to educate ignorant people, especially when google is RIGHT THERE," one X user wrote.

Another X user commented: "The black queen has spoken !! Dankie Ma Se Kind, Siyakuthanda kakhulu."

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Main image credit: Instagram/Tyla