Sister Sister stars Tia and Tamera Mowry were left off a magazine cover ‘because we were Black’

Tia Mowry of Sister Sister fame has said that she and her sister weren’t given magazine covers because they were Black – even when they were at the height of their fame.

Tia opened up during an episode of Entertainment Tonight’s online show Unfiltered, talking about Tia and Tamera Mowry’s 90s sitcom Sister Sister, which was extremely popular.

But Tia says that the sisters were denied a magazine cover – because they were Black.

“The show was extremely popular. We were beating – like in the ratings – Friends,” Tia recounted. “So, my sister and I wanted to be on the cover of this very popular magazine at the time – it was a teenage magazine. We were told that we couldn't be on the cover of the magazine because we were Black and we would not sell."

Tia said that the memory still affects her even now – and looks visibly upset, wiping away tears in the video.

“Here I am as an adult, and it still affects me how someone can demean your value because of the colour of your skin,” she added. “I will never forget that. I wish I would have spoken up. I wish I would have said something then. I wish I would have had the courage to speak out and say that isn't right."

In the interview, Tia also admits that being a young Black girl in the spotlight made her feel insecure, and that she would take diet pills and

Sister Sister was one of the most popular sitcoms on television at the time – Tia and Tamera portrayed twins who were separated at birth, and come across each other randomly one day at a mall. Sister Sister ran for six seasons, and was recently acquired by Netflix.

Mowry has continued to find success as a movie star since, and now has two children with actor Cory Hardrict.

She says that the experience made her more determined to instil confidence in her children, and to speak up whenever she experiences discrimination elsewhere.

She said: “I know what it feels like for someone to devalue your worth, and I don't want my children to ever, ever, ever, feel that. And not have the strength, or the foundation, to not believe it. To believe that they are worthy."