Halsey admits to benefitting from passing as white: 'I'm not susceptible to the same violence'

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By VT

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Halsey has opened up about her experience as a white-passing individual.

In a tweet on Wednesday, July 14, the 'Without Me' singer, who is part Black and part white responded to a Twitter user who said in a since-removed post that she "never claimed her Black side."

The Twitter user wrote, per Metro: "Notice how @Halsey never claims her black side, but she 'supports.' Stop being ignorant. She’s never claimed her Black side. This is why I will NEVER support her. On her post, she says 'let black ppl speak,' not 'let our ppl speak.' Nah, f**k her. [sic]"

Halsey decided to respond to the tweet directly, stating that it would be "an absolute disservice" to claim that they are "susceptible" to the same violence as those who have more pronounced Black features.

Halsey said: "I'm white passing. it's not my place to say 'we'. it's my place to help. i am in pain for my family, but nobody is gonna kill me based on my skin color. I've always been proud of who I am but it'd be an absolute disservice to say 'we' when I'm not susceptible to the same violence. [sic]"

The 26-year-old performer also spoke about her experience as a very light-skinned mixed-race person in an interview with Allure for the magazine's August cover.

Halsey said she's had to deal with people "writing off" her experience due to her more Eurocentric features.

Halsey told the magazine: "A lot of people try to write off a lot of my experiences because I present white. No matter how many tears I’ve shed because I’m not connecting with my family or my culture in a way that I would like too.

"Or because the waitress thinks I’m the babysitter when I go out with my family, none of that would compare to the tears that I would shed for presenting phenotypically Black and the disadvantages and the violence that I would face because of that."

They went on to say that their family has "a lot of guilt" about being white-presenting, adding: "But I think this is really common for mixed families."

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