Brandy’s daughter Sy’Rai Smith thought her mom was ’embarrassed’ of her weight

R&B singer and actor Brandy’s daughter Sy’Rai Smith is stepping into the spotlight with a body-positive message.

Smith made her TV debut on “The Real” on November 19 and opened up about her health problems, her weight-loss story and how her Grammy-winning mom encouraged her.

“I had a lot of health issues when I was at the size that I was,” Smith told hosts Jeannie Mai and Adrienne Bailon. “So, I changed my mindset, changed my mentality, and I knew that being in the body I was in, I knew my life wasn’t going to be as long. I had so many issues with my health and I just knew living my purpose, I wouldn’t be able to live in that body if I wanted to fulfill anything going forward in my life.”

She later added, “I wanted to change because of my health at first, but then, obviously, with health and changing your lifestyle, weight loss kind of comes.”

The 19-year-old says she often compared herself to her mother and her insecurities made her feel that her mom was embarrassed by her weight.

“Seeing my mom dress a certain way or wear certain things, when she was on carpets or on set, it was kind of difficult because it was like, ‘Why am I not that way? Why am I not that size? Why was I made the way I was made?’”

Smith continued, “Sometimes I would feel a little sad or I would feel like she was embarrassed of me.”

But Smith said her mom was always encouraging.

“These are all just insecurities in my head,” she said. “She was never like that. She always was supportive. She always knew that I was beautiful. She supported me whether I wanted to lose a lot of weight or not. She always told me that I was beautiful. Always.”

“She never felt any of those things that I felt that she felt. I just always kind of felt like the odd one out. My whole family is in the spotlight. I just was the odd one out. And now, coming from that to this, and realizing it was never that. They still loved me whether I was one weight or another.”

After the interview aired, Brandy shared a touching message on Instagram praising her daughter.

“What an amazing human being♥️,” she captioned a screengrab of her daughter’s television appearance. “I love your spirit and your smile. So brave to walk in your purpose and shine in your truth all up on @therealdaytime Your smile ♥️ …. @syraismith #inspire.”