Leigh-Anne has claimed her old workplace refused to display posters to support her during her time on The X Factor.
The former Little Mix star shot to fame on the ITV talent show in 2011 when the girl group – also comprising Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson, until her departure in 2020 – won the competition.
However, when her mother was trying to rally up support for her daughter, the Pizza Hut where she worked as a waitress allegedly snubbed her.
Speaking on The Red Carpet Treatment – On The Road podcast, host Luke Hamnett, who worked at another Pizza Hut restaurant, said: “Every Saturday or Friday we used to get a debrief saying that we had to vote for Little Mix and Leigh-Anne.
“I used to ring up and vote for you using our Pizza Hut phone.”
A stunned Leigh-Anne said: “Well, that’s more than what my Pizza Hut did for me. My mum went in with posters and said, ‘Can we hang these up?’ And the manager said no. I couldn’t believe it.”
Elsewhere, the 34-year-old star teased that her upcoming debut solo album, My Ego Told Me To, is “all about being authentic”.
She said: “I’m so excited. For me, this album is all sounds and genres that have shaped me growing up. I’ve taken all of that and put my, I guess, pop stamp on it as well. Like, I’ll always be a pop girl which I love. But for me, it’s like I can finally experiment with these genres that I do love and have something that is literally mine and unique to me. This is all about being authentic, otherwise, what is the point? I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Having full creative control was massively important for Leigh-Anne.
She said: “Yeah, I mean I’ve literally got creative control over everything. I’ve been in this industry for so long I think I’ve got all of that experience, and this is my album; this is my sound, this is my lane and I feel like I need to have complete control over that.”
Meanwhile, the Dead and Gone singer admits everyone in Little Mix – who continued as a three-piece until their eventual hiatus in 2022 – felt the desire to breakout and do their own thing.
She explained: “I think we all needed it to be able to express ourselves and be our individual selves. I think everyone should have the opportunity to do that. Being in a group for so long, it does come to a point where actually, yeah, you think, I need to know who I am now. I think it’s amazing that we’re all in our own little lane and doing our own thing.”