Halsey fires back at executive who stripped them without consent: 'It was so disheartening'

Halsey talks about a disturbing incident from earlier in his career where a “powerful” music executive invaded their privacy by passing nude photos on their phone without consent.

The singer-songwriter, who uses their/their pronouns, shared the story on She called her dad podcast, revealing that the incident left them feeling “disheartened” and deeply upset.

The “Lucky” singer explained that it happened several years ago while he was with the executive and two of their male managers.

“I mean, I guess it was a long time ago, but I was out and I was with this executive, like this very powerful executive that works in music in some capacity. It was quite simply festive and there was a lot of talk about the industry,” Halsey said. “I didn't feel weird about it at all. I never felt unsafe or anything.”

The evening took a dark turn, however, when the unnamed executive asked Halsey to send a photo of them together to his niece. Halsey snapped the photo, then handed them their phone, saying, “Send this to yourself. I have to pee.''

But when Halsey returned, they immediately sensed something was wrong.

“I saw that he was going through my nudes on my phone,” they remember. Halsey admitted the moment left them in shock.

“I was just frozen…I didn't even know what to do. I was like, “I was just imagining it? Was it an accident?' They continued, “I thought, 'Did the phone scroll up? What the hell happened?'

The thought that the executive might have even sent the photos to himself hung heavy with Halsey. “I said, 'Did he text himself and then delete the messages?' I don't even know where they are now,” they added, describing the disorientation and helplessness that overwhelmed them at the time.

The whole experience was so invasive that Halsey found himself questioning his self-worth. “I went from being like, 'Yeah, I'm like hot,' to being one of the big players. And then I sat down.”

“And when that happened, in that moment, I said, 'You're nothing. You are nothing. You will always be nothing. You're still just this girl who gets taken advantage of, or like guys talk about you behind your back, or kind of a sidekick,” she continued. “I was like, 'You're nothing.' It was so discouraging.”

Halsey shared that while they've faced “worse” incidents in their careers, this one stands out. “It was so discouraging,” they stressed. “I've had so many worse things happen to me than this, but this one stuck out for some reason because it was so nonchalant.”

Reflecting on the dark side of power dynamics in the industry, Halsey noted, “I'm in this exclusive space, thinking I've gotten to the ranks where I'm protected…and then this invasive thing just happens on a whim.” They explained that the incident made them feel like they had “regressed”.

Halsey recently released their latest album, The Great Imitator on October 25.

In addition to previously released singles “The End,” “Lucky,” “Lonely Is the Muse” and “Ego,” the LP also features songs such as “Only Girl Living in LA,” “Dog Years,” “Panic Attack, “I Believe in Magic”, “Homeland”, “I Never Loved You”, “Darwinism”, “Arsonist”, “Spider Life (DRAFT)” and “Hurt Feelings”. The great imitator marks Halsey's fifth studio album. Next is 2021 If I can't have love, I want powerwhich reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.