Jess Glynne ‘fell out of love with music’ after transphobia row death threats

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter said she ‘felt like the world caved in on me’

Jess Glynne has revealed she questioned whether she would return to the music industry after receiving death threats when she was accused of transphobia.

The 34-year-old pop star faced a backlash in March 2021 after using a transphobic slur on comedian Mo Gilligan’s podcast.

“It felt like the world caved in on me,” Glynne told The Telegraph.

“People can be so aggressive. They hear one thing and all just jump on this bandwagon, and... it feels like the world is over. For a period, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t breathe, how do I get out?’”

Glynne, who is bisexual and dating former England footballer Alex Scott, considers herself a member of the LGBTQ+ community and said she hadn’t realised the word she used could be considered transphobic.

“The way I said it wasn’t even an attack, it was actually me celebrating a community that I’m a part of, and that I love,” she said.

“And instead of that community being supportive and saying, ‘Oh, by the way, Jess, you know what, that word is actually really uncomfortable’, there were death threats and all these awful things.”

Jess Glynne in Manchester, December 2023 (Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

The “Rather Be” singer, who issued an apology at the time, said the incident made her wary of expressing herself in public for “a year or two”.

She said: “I fell in and out of love with music. I was deeply unhappy. I felt I was only seen as a product; I wasn’t seen as a human being.”

In January 2022, Glynne signed with Roc Nation, the US entertainment company founded by rapper Jay-Z, after years of being told: “I’m not allowed to do this, I have to wear this and go there, I have to be that, I can’t say this and I can’t do that.”

She also spoke briefly about her relationship with Scott, which started last summer, saying: “Over the years, I’ve never hidden who I am. I’m a very open person. I believe that love is love.

“And I’ve never hidden the fact that I’ve been in relationships with men, and I’ve been in relationships with women. That’s a massive side of my life.”

Glynne, who is set to release a new single titled “Enough”, said she is now one song away from finishing her third album.

She added: “I want the album to tell a story about vulnerability and power, being brave, showing all sides to who I am. I want it to be unapologetic.”

Additional reporting from the Press Association