Halsey received rape threats after her ground-breaking performance with a female dancer
Halsey at the 2019 Emmy Awards. (Getty)
Halsey has revealed that “all hell broke loose” after she performed her single ‘Without Me’ with a female dancer.
The singer-songwriter said that she suffered a fierce backlash after appearing on The Voice in 2018 alongside dancer Jade Chynoweth.
“People were going, ‘What is this lesbian garbage on my TV?'” she told The Sunday Times.
“My phone number leaked, my email leaked. People were texting me things like, ‘I’m going to rape you straight.’ Heinous stuff.”
The 25-year-old said the response was the perfect example of society’s double standards, explaining: “There are performances by other artists that are way more sexual.
“Here’s what’s important, though — the young people sitting on the couch next to that angry dad, that angry mom, hearing them spewing hatred. The kid that’s scared to come out needs to see that on the TV.”
Halsey is proudly bisexual.
Following her performance on The Voice in December 2018, Halsey said that she was “very proud to have p***ed off the homophobic viewers at home who missed the message”.
“Representation matters,” she added on Twitter. “Thanks @NBCTheVoice for giving a space for this vision to come to life. and thank you @JadeChynoweth for being an incredible human who used her body like the ultimate instrument for this collaboration.”
Halsey came out as bisexual in 2015 and is a fierce advocate for LGBT+ representation.
In 2017, she released the same-sex love song ‘Strangers’, a duet with bisexual Fifth Harmony singer Lauren Jaurequi.
Halsey revealed that record label executives had suggested she record the song with Katy Perry, to which she replied: “I’m not putting an artist on this song unless they’re f***ing gay.”
Singer revisits Women’s March speech.
As well as LGBT+ issues, Halsey is also a vocal advocate for women, survivors of sexual assault and people with mental health issues.
At the 2018 Women’s March, she recited a memorable and moving poem about her own experiences with sexual assault.
Speaking to the Times, Halsey said that she was initially “deflated” by the muted response her poem received during the march.
“When I did it, there were 2,000 people in front of me, and no one was listening or paying attention — if you watch it, there was barely even a cheer at the end,” she said.
“I got on a plane straight after, back from New York to LA, and when I landed, I turned my phone on. The video had 10 million views. I’m sitting at home reading about thousands of women’s experiences, which of course I’m absorbing, little empath girl. And that speech is still getting a response.”
