Yewande Biala has now released a statement in regards to Lucie Donlan's bullying allegations. The situation has been developing over the past few days, and catch-up on all the latest here.

In the statement, Yewande said the following:

"I think one of my earliest memories of racialized re-naming was when I was exploring different secondary schools. One of the schools I was interested in, btw I didn't end up going, asked me for my full name which is Yewande Elizabeth Biala. After having difficulties pronouncing my name, she went forward and put it down as Elizabeth Biala, as it would be easier for everyone. In that moment all I heard was that I didn't matter, and I was in inconvinience. From that day, I made it my mission to make sure people knew my name was important, after all that is my Identity."

Yewande carried on to say:

"Names are prominent identifiers that can often tell the story of one's ethnicity and cultural backgorund. My name means mother coming back, and I love it. There is a tendency for White European names and whitness in general to be perceived as normative, wheras racial minorities with names of religious and ethinic origins may be seen as inconvenience.

"Examples of name-based microaggresions include giving unwanted nickname. As I become older and developed my multicultural competence, I decided to stop trying to make others comfortable at my own expense

"It's important to recognize that asking for a nickname can feel invalidating, it makes me feel like an inconvinience also ascribing a nickname to a person or participating in radicalized re-naming, can be distressing. You, as an opresessor, have stripped me of my identity, you've taken my power in choosing how I want to be addressed."

She then went on to speak directly on her situation with Lucie:

"I corrected her multiples times. I didn't mind, because you are going to get it right. There was a moment just before a challenge. This was after 3 weeks in. She misprounounced my name, I correct her again and her reply was "yeah whatever you know what I mean" I rememebr one of the producers putting her arms around me. Being black on TV means not rising your voice, not being too defensive, because you don't want to create the narrative of being an angry black woman or being a belly. I am not a bully, it is such a huge accusation and one that should be handled very seriously.

And lastly, I encourage everyone to be aware of radlicalized renaming and name-based teasing. I think we should all be working towards being better advocates and creating a different dtnamic around these narratives."

There have been many responses to Yewande's statement, and there was much support shown for Yewande in the Borough comment section.

One Resident said "The worst part is Yewande isn't even hard to pronounce"

Another Resident couldn't praise Yewande enough. "Spoken like a true intellectual, classy woman!! Ya'll don't forget, she's a scientist too! So like Murad always says YEWANDE BABES"

Residents, we would love to hear more of your opinions on this topic.