Jesy Nelson has voiced her “frustration” after numerous media outlets picked up on her recent comments about her Little Mix bandmates.
The Boyz singer recently spoke to The Sun about her new single Bad Thing and its accompanying music video, which centre around the theme of domestic violence.
During the interview, Jesy was asked if she’d had any contact with her former bandmates since she quit the group, telling the tabloid: “We haven’t talked since then. Never say never, but I honestly wish them the best on their solo journeys now, which is so exciting.”
“I am rooting for all of them,” she added. “I honestly do wish them all the success as they are all crazy talented.”
On Tuesday night, Jesy shared a string of posts on her Instagram story admitting she was “really upset” that the media had chosen to focus more on her comments about Little Mix than the themes in her new music.
“I don’t normally comment on these things because so much shit gets written about me 24/7 that after a while I just think, ‘whatever’,” she explained. “I don’t like adding fuel to the fire, and I’m just over it.
“But today, I woke up to about twenty-fucking-five articles about me and the fact that I haven’t spoke to Little Mix in two years, and the ‘ongoing feud’.”
Jesy went on to say that while it was “inevitable” that she’d be asked about her time in Little Mix, she found it “really shit” that her one answer about Little Mix ended up being “put in every single headline”, including the original interview itself.
She said: “It’s just fucking bullshit. I just feel like women just get pitted against each other 24/7 in music, and I hate it. I think it’s disgusting.
“And it’s just really frustrating that when you’re actually going in there to talk about something that’s really close to my heart and means something to me, it’s then all taken out of context.”
“Anyway, what I want to bring it back to is that I made a song really close to my heart,” she added, pausing to insist she was “not going to get upset”.
“I made a video that really means something to me, and I wanted to raise awareness about domestic violence, it’s such an important topic that I don’t think is spoken about enough. And that is what the interview was supposed to be about. But yeah, we got told, ‘sorry, that didn’t get enough clicks, so we wanted to make it about the girls’.
“So, yeah. I just wanted to speak my truth on this one, because it’s actually really upset me.”
While Jesy and the remaining members of Little Mix all insisted at the time that her exit was an amicable one, this appeared not to be the case as time went on.
After Jesy’s debut solo single Boyz sparked controversy due to accusations of Blackfishing being levelled against her, reports claimed that her ex-bandmates had all unfollowed Jesy on social media. Unverified leaked DMs reportedly from Leigh-Anne Pinnock to one TikTok user later suggested that Jesy had, in fact, blocked the trio.
These alleged messages were never verified, nor did Leigh-Anne ever comment on the matter directly, but they did end up forming a major part of the conversation during an ill-fated Instagram live-stream Jesy took part in with her former collaborator Nicki Minaj, in which the rapper branded Leigh-Anne a “fucking clown” and accused her of being “jealous” of Jesy.
Jesy later took a break from releasing music, during which time she parted ways with her record label, but is now on the promo trail for her second solo single.
Watch the music video for Bad Thing below:
Help and support:
If you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are not in immediate danger, you can contact:
- The Freephone 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run by Refuge: 0808 2000 247
- In Scotland, contact Scotland’s 24 hour Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline: 0800 027 1234
- In Northern Ireland, contact the 24 hour Domestic & Sexual Violence Helpline: 0808 802 1414
- In Wales, contact the 24 hour Life Fear Free Helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
- National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0800 999 5428
- Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327
- Respect helpline (for anyone worried about their own behaviour): 0808 802 0321