Estelle stands by 'blacked up' video

Estelle has stood by her decision to wear black make-up in the video for her new single 'Freak'.

MTV News reports that the singer was criticised online for 'blacking up' when a trailer for the promo was released.

"Those comments were the first thing I saw after we released the video trailer," Estelle said. "It's like, 'Are you joking?'"

She added that she is good friends with the video's director Nabil Elderkin and explained that her concept for the shoot was "coming from a place of art versus trying to be different".

Estelle continued: "I think [people] need to wait to see the clip. I could defend myself, but it's just silly. I'm black, so how do I do blackface? Missy [Elliott] did the same thing [with her video] 'She's A Bitch'. I refuse to defend it. I didn't put any white ring around my mouth - never that."

The full video for 'Freak' will be released on the internet this week.