Camila Cabello responds to backlash over whether her dancer was in blackface

Camila Cabello is responding to backlash after some fans said it appeared that one of her dancers was wearing blackface during a television performance last week.

Cabello, 24, was flooded with comments on Twitter from fans who said they were disappointed and disgusted that one of her dancers, Dylan Pearce, appeared to be in blackface during a performance of her new single "Don't Go Yet" on "The Tonight Show."

In the performance, Pearce's skin appears to be colored with dark makeup, however, Cabello issued a statement on Saturday setting the record straight.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 8 (Andrew Lipovsky / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 8 (Andrew Lipovsky / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

"hey! so this dude was just supposed to be a white man with a terrible spray tan," she wrote in a statement shared on Twitter. "we purposefully tried to pull together a multicultural group of performers, the expectation was not that everyone in the performance needed to be Latin."

Cabello said "the point was to try to make each person look like an over the top 80's (sic) character," adding that there were "white people, African American people, latin people, etc.," represented in the video, including "a white dude with a terrible orange spray tan."

She also shared a screen grab from Pearce's Instagram story, where he had shared a photo of his look backstage at "The Tonight Show."

"In case you missed my spray tan last night on @jimmyfallon with @camila_cabello," he wrote next to the photo.

While the explanation satisfied some fans, others said they were disappointed that Cabello did not take the opportunity to apologize.

"I loved you so much, but I am SO disappointed. This is by far the lamest excuse for racism that I have ever seen in my entire life. You didn't even try to apologize here. I am so so so disappointed with you, seriously," one fan replied.

Another suggested that Cabello educate herself on the racist history of blackface.

Related: Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben are more than slightly problematic — they're vestiges of a bygone era that celebrated the mockery of Black people for white entertainment.

"Seriously do yourself a favor and research 80s (sic) aesthetic. The spray tan is super common. You'll acting like very ignorant immature people *face palm*..." they wrote.

In another tweet, Cabello thanked the group that helped her bring her new single to life onstage.

"on my team we try to create a culture of kindness, joy, & love & you could feel that this week. none of this could be possible without the dream team that makes it happen & the fans that continue to support," she wrote.

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