Jorja Smith: Not fitting into sample size clothing made me more confident

Jorja Smith has said she feels more confident in her body after doing photo shoots where the clothing on offer was too small for her.

The singer-songwriter and Brit Critics’ Choice 2018 winner also said she has encountered negative comments from people on social media, with some suggesting she looks pregnant because her stomach is not flat.

Smith, 21, said she has learned to become more confident and choose clothes that she is more comfortable wearing.

She told Elle UK magazine: “Photo shoots have kind of helped, because I do so many shoots where they only have clothes in sample sizes available, and I’m not sample size.

“Having to deal with not really fitting into certain clothes taught me a lot. If I was 15, I would have been so upset. But you just have to wear what you’re comfortable in.”

The music star, whose debut album Lost And Found peaked at number three in the charts last year before she went on to win the British female solo artist gong at the 2019 Brit Awards, said she has faced negative comments online from people remarking on her figure.

She said: “I don’t really read the comments. One thing that used to happen was, because my tummy’s not flat, if I wear tight things, it sticks out a bit.

“People comment: ‘She looks pregnant.’ People think that, because I have loads of followers, I don’t see things online. I’m training hard in the gym for someone to say, ‘You look pregnant.’ So I don’t read them.

“When I met Stormzy, he said ‘if you like it that’s all that matters.'”

Smith, who was interviewed by model Adwoa Aboah for the magazine, also said that finding fame over the past few years has been difficult for her.

“It was a big learning curve,” she said.

“I’m not a f****** robot. I tried, and I can’t do it.

“Last year it was too much – interviewers asking me the same things, people being like: ‘You’re so amazing.’ I just wanted a bit of normality, but that’s why I’m lucky with my family and friends.

“You need honest, real people around you that have their own problems, and want to talk to you about them and not just about what you’re doing all the time.”

Smith, who is Dior’s new beauty ambassador, said the role means a lot to her because she can inspire others who are mixed-race.

On her new role, she said: “Well it’s a new face and it’s also a natural face.

“I mean, I wear make-up, but I haven’t done anything to my face. I’ve always looked like this – for young mixed-race girls at school to see me and be like, ‘Oh – I look like her!'”

The June issue of Elle UK magazine is on sale on May 2.