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."
Halsey has criticized a magazine for deliberately disrespecting their preferred pronouns.
The 26-year-old singer announced that they will no longer do press after Allure magazine failed to use their correct pronouns in their August cover story.
In a series of tweets made to their 14.3 million followers on the platform, Halsey stated: "hey @Allure_magazine.
"First, your writer made a focal point in my cover story my pronouns and you guys deliberately disrespected them by not using them in the article."
Halsey continued: "Then your admin bastardized a quote where I discuss the privilege of being the white child of a black parent [and] intentionally used a portion that was the antithesis of the point I was trying to make.
"All of this, ironically, on the tails of an article where I give your author the intimate admission that I hate doing press because I get exploited and misquoted. Do f***ing better….?"
Indeed, despite the fact that the Allure story explicitly mentioned Halsey's use of both she/they pronouns, the article exclusively used she/her in the body of its text. The article itself has since been updated to use both sets of pronouns.
In a tweet to its followers, the magazine wrote: "We’ve heard your feedback and you’re absolutely right: we messed up. We are adjusting our cover story with Halsey to use both 'she' and 'they' pronouns."
But they stated that being the white-passing child of a white mother and Black father does not compare to the "disadvantages and violence" they'd face if they were "phenotypically Black."
Halsey also discussed the "guilt" that certain members of their family feel about her privilege as a white-passing person.
The magazine wrote that she stated: "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."
The musician announced back in March that they would be using she/they pronouns going forward, stated that they were happy for people to use both interchangeably, but felt that the inclusion of "they" was more authentic to her sense of self.
Though it may seem to have only come to the fore over the past few years, racism has always been a subject of huge importance in the USA due to the country's volatile and violent history of behaviour towards non-white people. And now, what with social media making it so much easier for everyone to have their say on the issue, more and more folks are coming forward to discuss the incredible racial inequalities that still exist in the states.
Last week, for example, Anne Hathaway posted about white privilege to her 12.2million Instagram followers. The post in question was about Nia Wilson, a teenage girl who was stabbed to death on July 22nd this year. Wilson was black, her killer was a white man. There was no apparent motivation for his crime.
"The murder of Nia Wilson- may she rest in the power and peace she was denied here- is unspeakable AND MUST NOT be met with silence," Hathaway wrote alongside a picture of the teen. "She is not a hash tag; she was a black woman and she was murdered in cold blood by a white man."
The actress then went on to discuss white privilege (which, for the unfamiliar, is the notion that white people have an inherent advantage over people of colour in most aspects of life. This does not mean that white people cannot have difficult lives, but that their lives are not likely to be made difficult simply because they are white).
"White people- including me, including you- must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America and have done so for GENERATIONS. White people DO NOT have equivalence for this fear of violence.
"Given those givens, we must ask our (white)selves- how “decent” are we really? Not in our intent, but in our actions? In our lack of action?
"Peace and prayers and JUSTICE for Nia and the Wilson family xx"
As well-intentioned as Hathaway's post may have been, however, her words caused some upset.
Most prominently, there were those who believed the actress was equating blackness with victimhood when she said "ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY".
Meanwhile, others believed that her post was an example of a classic "white savior" complex (whereby white people put themselves forward as the ones who can solve a huge, predominantly non-white problem).
At the same time, however, there was a huge number of people who appreciated Hathaway's candid take on the subject - especially as she has such a massive platform with whom to share it with.
What's more: this is not the first time that Hathway has spoken out about issues that do not necessarily affect her personally, thus proving that, yes, she certainly has white privilege - but she's using it for the benefit of those who don't.
As usual, then, there are many sides to this argument. While some may think the actress crossed a line by making such a sweeping statement about a huge demographic, others are grateful that she said anything at all. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that she said it with good intentions - and that's a good start, at least.
Over the last seven days, fans of Kanye West have expressed their concern for the rapper following yesterday's bizarre Twitter rant and a presidential rally over the weekend that saw the 43-year-old breakdown and say: "I almost killed my daughter."
With wife Kim Kardashian provided an updated on Kanye's mental health yesterday (below), singer Halsey has also taken to social media to explain why people should not be making fun of the rapper.
The 25-year-old 'Closer' singer wrote in a lengthy thread:
"No jokes right now. I have dedicated my career to offering education and insight about bipolar disorder and I’m so disturbed by what I'm seeing. Personal opinions about someone aside, a manic episode isnt a joke. If you can’t offer understanding or sympathy, offer your silence.
"A lot of people you know probably have bipolar disorder and you aren’t aware of it. Taking this opportunity to make offensive remarks and villify people with mental illnesses is really not the way to go...this is the exact triggering shit that causes people to keep quiet about it."
Halsey continued: "You can hate someone’s actions or opinions without contributing to stigma that damages an entire community of sometimes vulnerable people all for a couple of laughs.
"If you wanna think someone is an asshole, go ahead. Lots of people with mental illnesses are great. Lots of them are assholes. Because they are people. With nuanced personalities. But making jokes specifically targeted towards bipolar hurts more than the 1 person ur angry with.
"Sincerely, Human Being with a Decade Long Bipolar Diagnosis."
Yesterday, in a now-deleted series of tweets, West, 43, said that he has been wanting to divorce from Kim Kardashian for the last two years.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Twitter / Kanye West]]
And over the weekend, the rapper held his first "presidential rally" after announcing his intentions to run president on July 4.
However, West left those in attendance perplexed when he started to discuss abortion - saying in an outburst: "I almost killed my daughter. I almost killed my daughter."
West then started crying, after revealing that his parents nearly aborted him. He said: "There would have been no Kanye West, because my dad was too busy."
West then added: "I almost killed my daughter... even if my wife [Kim Kardashian West] were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn't want to."
West then gave an impromptu monologue about 19th-century abolitionist Harriet Tubman, in which he said: "Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people."
After a concerning series of events, Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian, spoke out yesterday (July 22) about her husband's mental health.
"As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar [sic] disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand," Kim wrote on her Instagram Stories.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA]]
"I've never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye's right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health," the mother-of-four continued.
"Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor. People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try."
While the 39-year-old noted that she "understands" that Kanye is "subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions."
Kim added: "He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."
Halsey is one of those stars who, even if you've never listened to her music, you probably think is a pretty cool person. She has excellent style, a great sense of humour, and - if you follow her on social media - you'll know that she's never afraid to speak her mind, especially on issues that others might shy away from.
However, even she is not immune to the occasional embarrassing moment.
While performing on stage as part of her world tour last night, Halsey suffered one or two awkward mishaps that did not go unnoticed by her fans. In fact, both of them were caught on camera and posted to Twitter.
First of all, while she was singing amongst the crowd, the Strangers artist got her nail broken by an overenthusiastic fan.
Then, later on, she suffered a slightly more serious incident in the form of some underboob slippage. Fortunately, she didn't actually expose herself to the crowd at any point - but, as you can see from her outfit, her boobs weren't quite where they were meant to be during one song.
As with the nail thing, though, Halsey took it on the chin.
"Sorry my boobs came out of my shirt tonight I’m gonna fix it," she tweeted. "But also ur welcome I guess u got ur money’s worth lmao."
So, while the malfunction might have been particularly nightmarish, Halsey handled it like a dream.
Halsey has been praised for proudly showing off their stretch marks just weeks after welcoming their first child.
The singer, 26, became a mom for the first time last month after welcoming baby boy Ender into the world, and Halsey has already been showered with love from fans.
What's more, Halsey - who came out as non-binary in March - was praised for breastfeeding their son in public.
Taking to Instagram, the 'Without You' hitmaker shared candid snaps of stretch marks that can be seen just below their belly button.
The intimate picture also showed off their tattoo just over their crotch which reads "baby".
Alev Aydin - the Grammy award winner's boyfriend of several months - is seen tightly cradling his son in another photo.
Sharing the series of snaps with their 25.7 million followers, Halsey wrote: "Well….this is what it look like."
Fans rushed to the comments section to compliment the singer on their body positivity, as others praised Halsey for breastfeeding outside.
"Wear those tiger stripes proud, mama!! Love to see it," wrote one fan.
Another penned: "Thank you for posting your stretch marks!"
While a third wrote that it was "nice to see a real mom, not someone explaining that you must have a six-pack two days after giving a birth."
A fourth added: "@halsey Just posted a picture breastfeeding and I actually teared up because I'm so happy for them."
Halsey welcomed their first child on July 14, 2021.
The singer announced the happy news on Instagram, sharing two photos of them cradling their newborn in bed.
"Gratitude. For the most 'rare' and euphoric birth. Powered by love," Halsey wrote. "Ender Ridley Aydin. 7/14/2021."
The singer announced their pregnancy on January 27 by sharing a series of pictures of their growing baby bump, writing: "Surprise!"
Halsey has been open in the past about experiencing multiple miscarriages, and their struggle with endometriosis. In February 2020, they told The Guardian that it seemed like motherhood was "gonna happen" for them.
"That's a miracle," they told the publication.
The singer-songwriter froze their eggs aged 23, and encouraged other women to do the same during an appearance on Doctors back in April 2018.
''I’m fortunate enough to have that as an option, and I need to be aggressive about protecting my fertility [and] about protecting myself," they explained.
"Reproductive illness is so frustrating because it can really make you feel like less of a woman. You don’t feel sexy, you don’t feel proud, and you don’t feel like there’s much hope.''
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