Cheryl's spokesperson has issued a response following remarks made by model Munroe Bergdorf, the model who was recently sacked from L'Oréal’s latest advertising campaign. Munroe made headlines at the weekend when she was fired from the beauty brand over comments she made about institutionalised racism, and during an appearance on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show on Monday, she brought Cheryl into the controversy. Munroe highlighted the fact that Cheryl is still employed by L'Oréal, despite her assault on toilet attendant Sophie Amogbokpa in 2003.
Munroe Bergdorf was recently sacked by L'Oreal
"I shouldn't be sacked for calling out racism when I was in a campaign that was meant to be championing diversity," she said. "Especially when I was speaking about the violence of white people, but they've got Cheryl Cole on the campaign and she was actively convicted for punching a black women in the face."
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"Does she not deserve a second chance?" Victoria asked. "I think if you're going to put a woman who punched a black woman in the face as the face of diversity, that just says a lot about white privileges, which proves my point," Munroe replied.
Cheryl has since responded through her rep, and said she is "disappointed" to have been dragged into the controversy. "More than 14 years ago, Cheryl was unanimously acquitted of a charge of racially aggravated assault," read the statement, which was issued to the Mirror. "She is disappointed to find her name involved in Munroe Bergdorf's media interview."
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Cheryl was cleared of racially aggravated assault, but was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. She was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay the victim £500.