Little Mix's females appear to be making a major statement.
Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall of the British girl trio unfollowed Jesy Nelson on Instagram this weekend after Nelson was accused of blackfishing in the music video for her debut solo single, "Boyz," which features Nicki Minaj.
Later, fans had mixed feelings regarding the band's choice to distance themselves even more from Nelson, who is 30 years old.
On Twitter, one gushed, "ALL LITTLE MIX MEMBERS HAVE UNFOLLOWED JESY BYEEE," while another said it was "due."
Meanwhile, a fan of Nelson pointed out that she was a "huge part" of Little Mix's success and that the group's Instagram page still follows her.
“I will be honest IF little mix's instagram account unfollows jesy, I will be extremely disappointed,” the user said. “I can understand them unfollowing individually.” "However, unfollowing from the group acc isn't the correct thing to do."
After nearly ten years in Little Mix, Nelson announced her departure in December 2020, citing that her tenure in the group had taken a toll on her mental health. She admitted how "really miserable" she was playing with Pinnock, 30, Edwards, 28, and Thirlwall, also 28, in subsequent interviews to promote her solo effort.
Despite the fact that Nelson had not talked to the three since leaving Little Mix, she still referred to them as "sisters" at the time.
Nelson recently told Glamour UK that she had "sent a few emails" to her former bandmates, adding, "You can't do in-between, there needs to be distance and perhaps at some time in the future, we can all come back together."
Though it's unknown why the Little Mix members have stopped following Nelson, many fans feel it has something to do with her response to allegations of blackfishing in her "Boyz" video. (The phrase "blackfishing" refers to non-black persons who utilize cosmetics or cosmetic modifications to make themselves seem black.)
"Baby girl has remade herself as biracial/racially ambiguous and is cosplaying as such," commented one TikToker, who also feels Nelson's song's lyrics "fetishize" black males because they sample Diddy's 2001 hit "Bad Boy for Life."
"Even with the phrase 'I adore them tattoos and them gold teeth...' to either fetishize Black males or offer a thumbs up to appropriation..." "Black culture isn't the same as pop culture."
Some Twitter users chastised Minaj, 38, and Diddy, 51, for "signing off" on Nelson's appropriation of black culture by participating in the video for "Boyz."
In an interview with New York Magazine's Vulture published Friday, Nelson addressed the reaction, saying that she's "just 100 percent being myself."
"If you look at me on 'X-Factor,' with my huge curly hair, I was wearing sneakers and combats — that's who I am as an artist and as Jesy," she explained.
"Now that I'm no longer a member of Little Mix, I've returned to being myself." I don't want to be an artist who is told what to dress or what music to produce, as I have stated. I want to be genuine and true to myself, and if that offends you, don't follow me. "Do not accompany me on my voyage."
Nelson rejected a second interview via her representatives and instead issued a statement in response to the current "Boyz" criticism.
"I take all of those remarks seriously," she stated. "I would never purposefully do anything to make myself appear racially ambiguous, so I was taken aback when the label was used to me."