"I am deeply sorry that my words have hurt many and have led people to believe that I have any prejudice in my heart," said Earle Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty has issued an apology for racist social media posts she made at age 13. While the posts, made on the website ASKfm, first , they've resurfaced within the past few weeks after being Since then, fans have asked Earle, 23, to speak out about the tweets throughout , causing her to address the controversial posts in a lengthy statement shared on her TikTok and Instagram Stories on Monday, Aug. 26.
The statement began with the beauty and lifestyle influencer apologizing for using the word "n----." Related: Alix Earle/Instagram "A couple of weeks ago, screenshots surfaced from my old ask.fm account showing me using a slur in the summer of 2014.
I am taking accountability and want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word," she wrote. "That is no excuse for using that word in any context or at any age. That absolutely is not the way I speak or what I stand for," Earle continued.
"I am deeply sorry that my words have hurt many and have led people to believe that I have any prejudice in my heart. I promise you that could not be further from the truth." Noting that she is "sincerely sorry to those I offended," she added, "I regret how I handled this situation, allowing too many people to talk me out of saying something for too long.
" Related: "I wasn't sure how to handle it and unfortunately the advice I was given, although well intended, was wrong. There is no one to blame but myself for not standing my ground and going with my gut to speak out right away." PEOPLE reached out to a rep for Earle for comment.
Earle, who , the platform where her "Get Ready with Me" (GRWM) videos helped her rise to fame, continued her statement by addressing rumors that and that she . John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images "In the absence of my addressing this, my silence allowed others to fill the void with rumors that simply aren’t true. One rumor in particular is that I tried to trademark my old posts, which is absolutely ridiculous and untrue," she said.
"Another is that a brand announced they are no longer working with me, even though we have never been in conversations with them about a partnership in any capacity." The social media star ended her statement by writing, "Regardless of what’s being said online, I wanted to come on here to address the facts and most importantly apologize." For more People news, make sure to Read the original article on .
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