Lady Leshurr says she is ‘restarting her life’ after mental health struggles

Rapper says she suffers from social anxiety

Lady Leshurr has said she is “restarting her life again” after struggling with her mental health.

The Birmingham rapper – who is best known for her “Queen’s Speech” freestyles – said she withdrew from public life because of the pressure that comes with being a performer.

Talking to BBC Newsbeat, she said: “I’ll be eating food at a restaurant and suddenly they’ve got their Snapchat in my face, like: ‘Spit bars!’ And it’s like, I’m actually a human. If you got to know me, you’d actually want to chill with me as a normal person. But some people just think that’s it, that’s all there is to me.”

Leshurr, who has also appeared as a contestant on Dancing on Ice, added: “I’ve been living a lockdown before lockdown. I just never used to go out the house. And if I did, I’ll get a taxi from there and back.”

The 34-year-old opened up about experiencing “scary” moments with fans. She said: “Some people have tried to do stuff to me before or follow me home, it can get really scary as a female. I’m five foot nothing, a little bit of change – all these guys and girls are taller than me. It’s overwhelming.”

Leshurr said that she is in a better place now, stating: “Recently, I’ll go out to places and just try and take back control of my mind again, I’ve been going out for the past couple of days on my own, trying to get over my social anxiety and just anxiety in general.”

Leshurr previously took a break from music in 2019 following the death of her sister, who died from cancer.

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In addition to her recording career, Leshurr hosted a show on BBC Radio 1Xtra and has been a contestant on Taskmaster.

If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: actiononaddiction.org.uk, mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.