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Tatayana's avatar

I love when white women are like “ she USE to be racist now that she’s in the public eye she stopped . God let it go”

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Michaela's avatar

Thank you for your eloquence on this subject! I had to deep dive on this after being very offline, and I was glued to my phone until my eyes were vibrating.

When I first heard the new single I had that horrible sinking feeling… is she veering into more… mainstream territory? An artist who named an album “Inbred” and has the online presence of an internet troll.. could it possibly be? Cue the controversy.

You bring up such a good point about the dangers of idolizing celebrities – they’re just people, sometimes not even good ones, and they actually don’t even have to be. While I think a lot of Hayden’s past online edgelordship is in poor taste, I also don’t think it reflects her current character in the least. At least, not her actions, and definitely not her statements regarding politics. It’s almost like *gasp* people do and say really stupid shit in high school! Her cancellation is mostly just bigotry disguised as accusation. And to cancel Ethel Cain for her edginess is, as you say, like canceling a frog for being green.

I bite my tongue about this a lot, but it pains me to see the way some engage with her work – she’s been outspoken about it herself, and it’s so ironic to be smeared this way when sometimes even “fans” are digging things out of the trenches to post all over the internet. I think her statement showcased a lot of bravery. Anyone can apologize (or not!), but I hope what she shared will shut up the peanut gallery somewhat, and maybe inspire some deeper engagement, even sensitivity, with her work on top of it.

Probably not surprising, but for me it’s still an Ethel Cain summer, and I’ll listen to Fuck Me Eyes knowing it’s got the Sharkey Spice song of the summer stamp of approval <3

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