Leigh-Anne Pinnock Talks Speaking Out on Social & Political Issues

Leigh-Anne Pinnock is not one to pull punches. The former Little Mix singer and solo performer took on her experiences as a Black woman in the music industry in her award-winning 2021 BBC Three documentary, Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, and joined Blur’s Damon Albarn, James Blake, Rina Sawayama and others at last September’s Together For Palestine event, where she garnered headlines for wearing a dress made out of keffiyeh-like material.

She also famously called out her former label in January on Paloma Faith’s Mad Sad Bad podcast, where she claimed that she left Warner Records when they were “basically ghosting” her after releasing her 2024 EP No Hard Feelings, an Amazon Music Live City Session that year and a handful of singles.

That’s why it’s no surprise that in a new interview with Pop Crave, Pinnock said that being an outspoken public figure is super important to her. “I’m always going to lead with compassion. And with the state of the world – there’s so much evil and it’s so f–ked up, it’s horrible at the minute,” she said. “I just think, how can anyone not? How can anyone not use their platform and say something, even if it’s a f–king repost. Just something. You can’t ignore what’s happening in the world.”

Asked if she’s ever had major pushback on her opinions, Pinnock said not that she’s aware, but even if it’s out there she hasn’t noticed. “And I don’t really care, to be honest,” she said. As for whether she’s seen any changes in the music industry since the release of her doc, Pinnock suggested that “at the time” some things did switch up a bit. “But now when I think about it, so many people were talking about race and so many companies and businesses were putting things in place: more diversity and really listening to their Black workers,” she said. “But now I’m like, ‘Where has that gone?’”

Pinnock, auditioned as a solo act for the British X-Factor when she was 19 and was then drafted to join the wildly successful British girl group Little Mix. After winning three Brit Awards and landing 19 top 10 singles in the U.K., Little Mix went on hiatus in 2022 and Pinnock began releasing solo singles including “Don’t Say Love” and “My Love.”

As Pinnock gears up to launch her My Ego Told Me To tour on April 6 in Dublin, the singer said performing solo is a “natural transition” for her because she’s always loved to be on stage, though she does sometimes miss the company of her former bandmates.

“I love what I do. The idea of going into the studio and writing about all the things that I want to say and being able to make my own music, I was so excited about,” she said. “At the same time, I miss them so much. We’d belly laugh every day. Even that in itself, we were just so silly and we had so much fun. And I do miss that,” she said of her LM mates Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson (who left the group in 2020 under strained circumstances).

“It took the pressure off because we were just enjoying each other and having the time of our lives,” she reminisced.