Maya Jama has addressed the recent controversy surrounding a tweet she sent in 2012, admitting she was “totally wrong” to post a remark about “dark-skinned” women on Twitter.
The TV presenter and Radio 1 DJ hit headlines last month when a tabloid newspaper drew attention to a post she had shared on the social-networking site at the age of 17.
On the day the tweet resurfaced, Maya issued an apology (which itself drew criticism) and then a longer statement, but she’s now spoken candidly about the controversy for the first time.
Appearing on the latest episode of The Receipts Podcast, Maya said: “Every time I used to see people’s old tweets come up on my timeline, I would say, ‘Wow, thank god I didn’t used to say stuff like that’.
“I genuinely did not even think for a second that I had tweets that could get brought up in the first place or that I had that state of mind, at any point. I don’t even remember the person I was at that point.
“I’m so far and changed from that, I don’t remember the person I was. It was eights years ago. I was 17 years old. I wasn’t a person of influence at all, I had 100 followers if that, and I worked in retail.
“I think, unfortunately, times were so different. In the sense that everyone was a bit ignorant, myself included. I was uneducated in the sense that I didn’t realise the impact telling jokes like that would have.”
The star also pointed out that the tweet - which read “Dark skin bitches shaving their head expecting to look like Amber Rose, when really they end up looking like Michael Jordan.” Looooooooool.” - was quoting a Kevin Hart parody account, but did not attempt to this as an excuse for her actions.
“Really it doesn’t matter,” she said. “I still posted it at the end of the day, but I was definitely just an ignorant person that was trying to make people laugh and not understanding the seriousness of jokes like that.
“I hold my hands up, [it was] completely wrong. But that time was an ignorant and stupid place.”
Maya also revealed that after issuing her second apology she took some time out from social media.
In the past 12 months, the presenter has landed some pretty big hosting gigs and when Radio 1 announced her weekend show, she became one of the station’s youngest ever presenters at the age of 23.
She’s also popped up on the ITV shows ‘Loose Women’, ‘Good Morning Britain’, ‘Cannonball’ and ‘Celebrity Juice’.
Listen to Maya’s full episode of The Receipts Podcast here.