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The 1975 frontman Matty Healy claims 'misogyny doesn't happen in rock and roll anymore'

The frontman believes sexist vocabulary has been 'weeded out' of rock and roll

Clémence Michallon
New York
Wednesday 05 December 2018 17:55 GMT
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Matthew Healy performs with The 1975 on stage at The BRIT Awards 2017 at The O2 Arena on 22 February, 2017 in London, England.
Matthew Healy performs with The 1975 on stage at The BRIT Awards 2017 at The O2 Arena on 22 February, 2017 in London, England. ((Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images))

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Matty Healy has claimed misogyny has been erased from rock and roll.

The 1975 frontman told The Fader that sexist vocabulary has been "weeded out" of the genre over time, adding that it still exists in hip-hop because the genre is "so young".

Healy was asked to comment on the lyric "Rest in peace Lil Peep", which appears in The 1975's song Love It If We Made It.

Lil Peep died in November last year of an accidental drug overdose.

Asked to outline his perspective on drugs and the music industry, Healy declared that "one of the problems is the youth of hip-hop".

He argued that, in his view, hip-hop is currently going through a phase previously experienced by rock and roll.

"Those things get weeded out the longer those things exist," he said before using sexism as an example.

"The reason misogyny doesn't happen in rock and roll anymore is because it's a vocabulary that existed for so long is that it got weeded out.

"It still exists in hip-hop because [the genre] is so young, but it'll stop."

Healy referenced his own heroin addiction, saying he was once "terrified" that it would be revealed because it would make him a "cliche".

The singer's claim that misogyny no longer exists in the rock and roll industry was met with scepticism.

"Imagine having so much male privilege you can't even see misogyny," one person wrote. "Also watching him use hip-hop as a coded attack on the black community when rock and roll was built by black artists is hilarious and sad."

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"I love Matty Healy but suggesting that misogyny is only a hip-hop issue is a really big, racially coded no," another person added.

Another Twitter user said they couldn't "stop thinking" about Healy's claims.

"Imagine being so arrogant as to state misogyny isn’t present rock music but is in other genres," the Twitter user added. "Moreover, imagine being a man and feeling entitled to preach about the existence of misogyny."

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