‘It was just survival,’ says Tan France of encountering racial hate as a child

In his new documentary, Tan France: Beauty & the Bleach, renowned fashion designer and TV personality Tan France opened up about some of his most painful and awful childhood experiences.

The British-American stylist, who just returned to Doncaster, remembered being a victim of racial and ethical prejudice when he was younger.

While travelling up the M1 to Doncaster, the Netflix Queer Eye star, 39, described how a gang of men attacked him on his way to school because he was Asian. ‘I always felt afraid growing up in Doncaster.’ He said, “I felt if I had whiter complexion, I wouldn’t be contacted every day.”

n his new documentary, Tan will also talk about how he bleached his skin at the age of just nine years old, after being ‘concerned’ about his skin colour ‘since the day he was born’.

“As an Asian, gay Muslim I was desperate to get away. I have been concerned about my skin colour from the day I was born.”

“I used to wake up thinking, “What trouble is my skin going to get me into today?” It was about survival. Being able to get home without being attacked,” he shared.