{"id":17292,"date":"2017-07-22T13:38:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-22T20:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=17292"},"modified":"2017-07-22T13:38:10","modified_gmt":"2017-07-22T20:38:10","slug":"dont-want-people-to-define-me-by-my-skin-color-lilly-singh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/dont-want-people-to-define-me-by-my-skin-color-lilly-singh\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Want People to Define Me by My Skin Color: Lilly Singh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actress and comedian Lilly Singh, who was appointed as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador, hugs a girl child at an event in New Delhi, July 15. She is known by her digital alias \u2018Superwoman.\u2019 (Kamal Kishore\/PTI)<\/em><\/p>\n

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At 28, Lilly Singh has achieved what others only dream of. She is one of the world\u2019s highest paid YouTube stars, an actress, a writer and a singer, writes Shrishti Negi.<\/b><\/p>\n

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Born to Indian parents in Canada, Lilly had a normal life until she decided to create a YouTube account, not realizing that it would end up making her famous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started doing it because I was sad. And all my friends started it because they were either anxious or they did not talk to people or they had some personal reasons,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Known as Superwoman among her fans, Lilly\u2019s stardom has gone far beyond her YouTube channel, which has over 11.9 million subscribers. She was recently appointed UNICEF\u2019s Goodwill Global Ambassador.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Lilly says, \u201cI was one of the first South-Asian females to be on YouTube. I would say that was my biggest strength and weakness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my strength because that\u2019s what got me a lot of attention. People were like, \u2018Oh my god, there\u2019s this brown girl on YouTube let\u2019s watch her.\u2019 But at the same time people couldn\u2019t see past my color. There were so many news reports that wouldn\u2019t even say my name sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilly says there were times when such reports would only refer her as an Indian girl or a brown girl on YouTube.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was not all I was known for. It has been difficult. It\u2019s two-fold, I want people to recognize my skin color but I also don\u2019t want them to define me by that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Internet star, however, says she fortunately never really countered any major case of discrimination though she gets a glimpse of it in the comment section of her videos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest discrimination that probably I face today is just YouTube comments. They are racist and sexist for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if she is now used to fame and the criticism it brings, Lilly says, \u201cWhen I first started as \u2018superwoman\u2019 and people started recognizing me I was like, \u2018Yeah this is amazing.\u2019 As I\u2019ve progressed I feel like now I get a little more anxious than I used to get before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The world of social media keeps her busy, so much so that she doesn\u2019t even get time for herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always have to be on Twitter or Instagram. Even while walking from this room to that room. And people are always asking me something. But sometimes it makes me a little bit anxious. It\u2019s an ongoing journey and I\u2019m really trying to figure it out. There\u2019s no one solution to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilly was recently in India to support UNICEF\u2019s new initiative which aims to empower the youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always have this great privilege from the people of India because they very much still make me feel at home which is good because I\u2019m not technically from India. But whenever I come here I feel like \u2018Welcome home,\u2019\u201d she says about her experience of coming to India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actress and comedian Lilly Singh, who was appointed as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador, hugs a girl child at an event in New Delhi, July 15. She is known by her digital alias \u2018Superwoman.\u2019 (Kamal Kishore\/PTI) At 28, Lilly Singh has achieved what others only dream of. She is one of the world\u2019s highest paid YouTube stars,…<\/p>\n

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