In October, former Little Mix member Jesy Nelson came under fire after being accused of blackfishing in her music video for her debut single, Boyz.
Since then, A LOT has happened. The solo artist responded to the claims, alleged DMs from her former bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock leaked, and Nicki Minaj even got involved.
WATCH: Little Mix perform on BBC tribute show to frontline workers
So, what exactly is going on?
Well, it all started after Jesy faced criticism for her Boyz music video, which features Nicki Minaj.
Viewers accused the solo artist of blackfishing – i.e. when a non-black person alters their appearance to seem black or racially ambiguous.
What has Jesy said about blackfishing?
Jesy has previously responded to accusations of blackfishing.
In an interview with Vulture in October, the solo artist spoke about her love of “black culture”.
“I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on,” Jesy said. “I’m very aware that I’m a white British woman; I’ve never said that I wasn’t.
“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.”
In December, Jesy also received backlash for wearing a jacket depicting the word ‘Black’ to Capital FM’s annual Jingle Bell Ball.
Where does Little Mix come into all of this?
As the blackfishing allegations unfolded, it was reported that the remaining members of Little Mix (new mums Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, as well as Jade Thirlwall) unfollowed Jesy’s Instagram account.
That was until Leigh-Anne’s alleged DMs leaked where the singer told TikTok influencer NoHun that Jesy had “blocked” them and “cut (them) off”.
It is worth emphasising that it has not been proved whether these DMs are real.
How is Nicki Minaj involved?
Jesy’s Boyz co-singer Nicki Minaj soon shared her two cents on the situation.
Jesy and Nicki were live on Instagram when the Anaconda singer brought up those alleged DMs from Leigh-Anne.
“Sweetheart, take them messages and shove them up your a*s,” Nicki said. “Don’t come out to try and ruin anyone, let her enjoy this time. Print them text messages out, buss that a*s open and shove it up your motherf*****g a*s.
“If you want a solo career baby girl go ahead and say that. You don’t have to attack someone else, if that’s how you felt, why [was] you kiki’ing with her for 10 years?
“It screams insecurity, it screams that you’re jealous. And now you just look like a big jealous bozo.”
The Super Bass singer also defended Jesy regarding the blackfishing backlash, claiming that “as long as you’re not hurting nobody or speaking negatively about someone’s race you should be able to wear whatever you want to”.
After Nicki had finished, Jesy chimed in to thank her collaborator, saying: “‘Thank you babe, honestly that means a lot. While we’re on this subject, I just want to say my intention was never meant to offend people of colour with this song.
“I just wanted to celebrate that, that era of music because it’s what I love. Genuinely it actually does really hurt me that I may have offended people and hurt people’s feelings just by celebrating something I love.’”
Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade have yet to comment on the situation.
Is Jesy really dating Leigh-Anne’s ex-boyfriend?
In November, Jesy was spotted sharing a PDA moment with Leigh-Anne’s reported ex, Emily in Paris actor, Lucien Laviscount.
An insider told The Sun that the singer was left “mortified” by the pictures and that the pair are, in fact, not dating.
“Jesy is single. She and Lucien were at separate clubs on different nights out, but shared a rickshaw ride across London. They weren’t kissing and now Jesy’s seen the photos, she’s absolutely mortified,” the source said.
“They’re not boyfriend and girlfriend – they just ran into each other on a night out.”
Where do Jesy and Little Mix stand now?
For the moment, there seems to be a bit of distance between Jesy and Little Mix.
In a recent interview for Glamour, the Boyz singer revealed that she and her former bandmates are taking some space.
“Hopefully at some point in the future we can all come back together. I love them. They are my sisters in so many ways, but for the time being we just don’t talk,” Jesy said.
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