Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade UNFOLLOW ex-bandmate Jesy on Instagram a day after she releases ‘blackfishing’ debut solo single
- The Little Mix members unfollowed Jesy a day after she released the music video for Boyz, in which she was accused of blackfishing
- Blackfishing is a term used to describe a white person attempting to appear to have black heritage
- The hotly-anticipated R&B track saw the former Little Mix band member dress up in a series of racy ensembles while sporting a very tanned complexion
- In a recent interview with Vulture, Jesy claimed that the term had never been directed towards her before her departure from the girlband
The three existing members of Little Mix have unfollowed ex-bandmate Jesy Nelson on Instagram – a day after she released her debut solo single.
Jesy, 30, who left the girl group last December due to her mental health, unveiled her single Boyz featuring Nicki Minaj and Diddy on Friday – yet remaining Little Mix trio Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall have made no reference to it.
Instead, they appear to have unfollowed Jesy; as has Perrie’s dog’s Instagram account.
Oh dear! The three existing members of Little Mix have unfollowed ex-bandmate Jesy Nelson on Instagram – a day after she released her debut solo single
The official Little Mix account still follows Jesy, however.
Jesy recently wiped her entire Instagram page, ahead of her solo career launch. She only follows two people – collaborators Diddy and Minaj.
MailOnline has approached the band’s representatives for comment.
The social media upset comes after Jesy was accused of ‘blackfishing’ with her Boyz music video – which is a remake of Diddy’s 2001 video for Bad Boy for Life – the track Jesy sampled in her video.
Blackfishing is the term used to describe a white person attempting to appear to have black heritage.
Unfollowed! Jesy, 30, who left the girl group last December due to her mental health, unveiled her single Boyz featuring Nicki Minaj and Diddy on Friday – yet remaining Little Mix trio Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall have made no reference to it
In Jesy’s video, the former Little Mix band member dresses up in a series of racy ensembles while sporting a very tanned complexion.
After the video dropped, several fans took to social media to accuse Jesy of blackfishing – yet in a recent interview with Vulture, she claimed that the term had never been directed towards her before her departure from the girlband.
She went on to defend herself, adding: ‘I’m very aware that I’m a white British woman; I’ve never said that I wasn’t.
‘But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on,’ the Essex-born star said.
Reaction: Little Mix failed to acknowledge their former bandmate Jesy’s debut solo single release as they took to social media to promote their own new music on Friday
When quizzed about claims that some of her Instagram followers were blocked by her account after commenting that she appeared to be Blackfishing, Jesy said it may have been a member of her team.
The Power hitmaker later added that her management team have deleted comments and blocked users in the past, following years of trolling online.
‘I take all those comments made seriously. I would never intentionally do anything to make myself look racially ambiguous, so that’s why I was initially shocked that the term was directed at me,’ Jesy’s publicist told the publication.
One to watch: Singer Jesy, 30 – who left the girl group last December due to her mental health- finally dropped her long-awaited debut solo single Boyz featuring Nicki Minaj and Diddy
Meanwhile, Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie have not addressed the controversy, but have been promoting their own new music on social media.
Taking to Instagram to push the sale of a new signed record, the band urged fans to get their hands on a limited edition record.
They wrote on social media with a snap of the the record: ‘The signed Between Us records are only live for a few more hours.’
While Jesy has opened up about the lack of contact she has had with the band since leaving, Little Mix have remained tight-lipped over her departure.
Busy: However the band – now consisting of Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade – continued to focus on their future as a trio as she released her new song as they promoted the sale of a new signed record
Jesy’s long-awaited debut solo single finally dropped on Friday morning alongside an action-packed music video that saw the singer showcase her dance moves and collaborate with two of the industry’s biggest rappers.
The X Factor winner sampled Diddy’s hit anthem Bad Boy 4 Life and remade the iconic music video, with the rapper making a cameo appearance and joking about her departure from Little Mix.
Another music heavyweight making an appearance was Nicki Minaj – who previously collaborated with Little Mix on the 2018 song Woman Like Me.
Double trouble: Jesy’s long-awaited debut solo single finally dropped on Friday morning alongside an action-packed music video that saw the singer showcase her dance moves and collaborate with Nicki Minaj and Diddy
In Jesy’s music video – which was a direct copy of Diddy’s 2001 video – she spoofed the moment Diddy is confronted by Ben Stiller – who jokes about the rapper’s many monikers – Puff Daddy, P Diddy and Sean Combs.
For Jesy’s version, Diddy called the singer ‘Jeezy, Jesy, Little Mix, whatever y’all calling yourself these days’, poking fun at her controversial departure from Little Mix in December.
Elsewhere in the video – which was filrmed in Edgeware north London – Jesy stripped down to a bikini and snacked on sushi before slipping into a tiny tennis skirt and chunky platform heels.
Jesy previously described the song as an ‘in your face’ club anthem that could divide fans’ opinion.
Success: It proved to be an overwhelming hit online, with fans taking to Twitter after the song dropped to pen: ‘Jesy Nelson killing the BOYZ with so many outfits. Plus her vocals and adlibs and Nicki Minaj’s Rap part made the whole MV a masterpiece!’
‘You’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it and I would rather that than people be like, ‘Meh, okay…”, she told Noctis XXI Magazine.
Yet it proved to be an overwhelming hit online, with fans taking to Twitter after the song dropped to pen: ‘and after all, Jesy was feeling so good and so happy. So proud of her. This is the best debut i ever seen’;
‘Jesy Nelson killing the BOYZ with so many outfits. Plus her vocals and adlibs and Nicki Minaj’s Rap part made the whole MV a masterpiece!’.
It comes after the singer, 30, who officially quit Little Mix in December, revealed that she hasn’t spoken to her former bandmates in a year.
The vocalist commanded the charts with Leigh-Anne, Jade and Perrie for nine years after finding fame on X Factor in 2011, however Jesy left the group amid growing strain on her mental health.
Speaking to Glamour Magazine, the star, who is set to release her debut solo single Boyz on Friday, revealed that there is a ‘distance’ between herself and the trio which she confessed is ‘weird’ given their proximity for nearly a decade.
She said: ‘I haven’t spoken to the girls. It is weird because for so many years we were as close as sisters, together every hour of the day for weeks, sharing beds, laughing, crying just 24/7 the four of us together and then… Nothing.’
Jesy announced her departure from the group one year after filming a BBC documentary Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, in which she revealed she had attempted to take her own life after years of relentless trolling and abuse.
While she has spoken now about her relief at being free of comparisons from the other girls, Little Mix have continued as a threesome.
Out now: Jesy has finally released her debut solo single
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