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Halsey says she will no longer do interviews after magazine uses incorrect pronouns and quotes her out of context

Singer encouraged outlet to ‘do f***ing better’

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Tuesday 03 August 2021 18:04 BST
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Halsey vows against doing any more press following 'disrespectful' interview
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Halsey has announced they will no longer be doing interviews after a magazine “deliberately disrespected” their preferred pronouns and shared one of their quotes out of context.

The singer shared her dismay with Allure magazine on Wednesday after the outlet featured her in its August cover story, published last week.

In the first of a series of tweets, the 26-year-old, who welcomed their first child with boyfriend Alev Aydin last week, and who previously announced their decision to use she/they pronouns, called out the magazine’s choice to omit the gender-neutral pronoun from the story.

“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,” the singer wrote.

In March, after updating their Instagram bio to include both pronouns, Halsey clarified on social media that the inclusion of both “she” and “they” feels “most authentic to me”.

“For those asking RE: my updated Instagram bio, I am happy with either pronouns,” she said at the time. “The inclusion of ‘they,’ in addition to ‘she,’ feels most authentic to me. If you know me at all you know what it means to me to express this outwardly.”

As of Wednesday, the Allure article includes references to Halsey using both “they” and “she,” which BuzzFeed notes was changed after publication, as the interview was reportedly published using just she/her.

The outlet announced the update to the Halsey profile on Twitter on 14 July in a tweet that read: “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.”

In their tweet, Halsey then accused the outlet of promoting the interview by using one of their quotes out of context, referring to a since-deleted tweet from the magazine that read: “Throughout her life, @halsey has struggled with her identity as a white passing Black woman (her mother is white and her father is Black). ‘A lot of people try to write off a lot of my experiences because I present white.’”

In response, the Without You singer continued: “Then your admin bastardised 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.”

In the interview, Halsey, who describes herself as “white-passing,” explains that, although a lot of people try to write off her experiences because she “presents white,” it does not “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”.

“A lot of people try to write off a lot of my experiences because I present white,” they told Allure. “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.”

Halsey then acknowledged the irony of the situation, explaining that she had even disclosed her dismay over previous things she’s said being used out of context during the interview with Allure, continuing: “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…?”

In the interview, Halsey was quoted as having told the magazine that they “don’t do press anymore” because they “just don’t translate very well in print”.

The singer concluded their tweets with a final one that read: “#NoMorePress goodbye” along with a red heart emoji.

In response to the tweets, which have been liked more than 43,000 times, Halsey’s fans have inundated her with support.

“I’m so sorry this had to happen right after such a big moment in your life. You deserve better,” one person tweeted, while another said: ‘’I’m so sorry that this kind of shit keeps happening to you. I’m really glad you’re not afraid to call it out though.”

As of now, the magazine has not commented on Halsey’s concerns.

The Independent has contacted Allure for comment.

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