Jade Thirlwall Blasts 'White and Privileged' Celebrity Over Politics Remark

Newsweek

2 hours ago

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Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall took aim at The 1975's Matty Healy over his apolitical stance.
Newsweek reached out to Healy's representative via email for comment on Monday.
Why It Matters
England-born Thirlwall, 32, rose to fame on The X Factor in 2011 as a member of Little Mix. The British girl group also consists of Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards. In December 2020, Jesy Nelson announced her departure from the band, citing mental health reasons.
Little Mix went on hiatus in 2022 to focus on solo projects.
Healy—who famously dated Taylor Swift—is the lead vocalist of The 1975. The British band gained mainstream recognition with hits like 2013's "Chocolate" and 2022's "About You."
What To Know
In an interview with The Guardian, which was published on Saturday, Thirlwall criticized Healy for not speaking out about politics.
"I don't think you can be a pop artist and cover your eyes. I saw Matty Healy say that he doesn't want to be political, which I found disappointing," she told the outlet. "It's very easy for someone who's white and straight and very privileged to say that. Good for you, hun!"
Jade Thirlwall attends the launch party for Leigh-Anne's "Don't Say Love" at Restaurant Ours on June 15, 2023 in London, England.
Jade Thirlwall attends the launch party for Leigh-Anne's "Don't Say Love" at Restaurant Ours on June 15, 2023 in London, England.for Warner Music UK LTD
Thirlwall appeared to be referring to The 1975's Glastonbury set in June, during which Healy said he made a "conscious decision" to refrain from discussing the current political climate.
"People who are watching this may—I don't know... They may be disappointed in the lack of politics in this show and our forthcoming shows and probably our future shows. I want you to know that it's a conscious decision," Healy said, per Variety. "We honestly don't want our legacy to be one of politics. We want it to be that of love and friendship. I'm not trying to be too earnest, but you can go out into the world and there's loads of politics everywhere. We don't need more politics. We need more love and friendship."
The 36-year-old continued: "I know that's really basic, but if you are a young kid and you are inspired by, like, this band or something like that—don't aspire to play a stage or be a certain size. Aspire for this level of friendship and love in what you do and you'll never fail. And I love you."
Shortly afterward, however, the rock band began their tune "Love It If We Made It," which displayed images of President Donald Trump, Kanye West, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and more.
Matt Healy of The 1975 performs on day three of the 2023 Outside Lands Festival at the Golden Gate Park on August 13, 2023 in San Francisco, California.
Matt Healy of The 1975 performs on day three of the 2023 Outside Lands Festival at the Golden Gate Park on August 13, 2023 in San Francisco, California.
Steve Jennings/WireImage
In 2015, Thirlwall took over Little Mix's X account and said she was "truly saddened and ashamed" by the U.K. parliament voting to launch air strikes in Syria.
"So, so sorry to the innocent people of Syria xxjadexx," she posted at the time.
"I got in a bit of trouble for that," she told The Guardian.
What People Are Saying
On X, pop culture account Pop Crave posted Thirlwall's quote about Healy, and people shared their thoughts in the comments.
Some people disagreed with Thirlwall.
X user @moraltreason wrote: "People don't want everything to be political. Whether it's sports, film, music, comedy, restaurants, etc. It only ruins it."
@St0rmShadowX said: "No, i go to the entertainment industry (movies, music, art, etc) to escape stupid and divisive politics. I dont remember paying artists to preach to me."
Others, meanwhile, defended her remarks.
@MissAmeliaNancy posted: "A queen."
@master_baiter19 added: "She's so real."
One person, meanwhile, was on the fence.
@jvs33ph chimed in: "I'm two sided on it tbh. I definitely agree with her that it is disappointing that a lot of people don't speak about politics, but also considering how big a lot of artists are, I get speaking on certain issues arise a lot of security risks and people who wish genuine harm on them."
What Happens Next
Thirlwall's debut solo album titled That's Showbiz Baby! will be released on September 12.