Brandy responds to concerns about her appearance 

A visit to her hometown of McComb, Mississippi has compelled Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Brandy to respond to online speculation about her appearance. The R&B star received multiple honors recognizing her decades-long career, including the first-ever Key to Pike County. The City of McComb and state leaders also celebrated her. And during her visit she announced a partnership through her Norwood Kids Foundation to provide musical instruments and expanded arts opportunities for students at C.D. Higgins Middle School. But the moment was marred by remarks about how frail she appeared. Brandy took to Instagram on Saturday with a heartfelt post about the onslaught of remarks. An excerpt from the post reads as follows: “I’ve learned that it takes only a moment to form an opinion about someone’s appearance, and a lifetime to understand what they’ve lived through. So may we become gentler with one another. Not because everyone is fragile, but because everyone is carrying a story we cannot see. Before you speak about someone’s body, before you speak about someone’s face, before you decide who they are by what you see, remember, you are looking at someone’s child. Someone’s friend. Someone’s dream. Someone’s life. A soul.”