Not everyone took kindly to Halsey and Jade Chynoweth’s beautiful performance at the Season 15 finale of The Voice on Dec. 18. The two got up close and personal for a contemporary dance to Halsey’s hit, “Without Me,” which follows a “wlw [women-loving-women] couple and their emotional journey,” as the singer explained. Twitter erupted in outcries that the performance wasn’t “family-friendly,” as one fan tweeted, “HORRIBLE HALSEY…WHAT A NEGATIVE MESSAGE…inappropriate!!!!,” and another simply wrote, “That was inappropriate.” The 24-year-old singer has since defended herself against NBC viewers who missed the point.
“Very proud of the emotional performance i did with @JadeChynoweth on @NBCTheVoice tonight. And also very proud to have pissed off thw [sic] homophobic viewers at home who missed the message. Thanks for watching. 🖤🦋,” Halsey tweeted after the finale aired. Many viewers agreed that the critics were being “homophobic,” as one fan tweeted, “About that halsey performance, its infuriating how a simple dance a man and woman could do would be acceptable, but the fact it’s two women makes it inappropriate?? Wtf.” Halsey also poked fun at a hater who posted a photo of her and Jade embracing on stage, who labeled it “disgusting.” Halsey retweeted the screengrab and sarcastically wrote, “I too find hugs DISGUSTING !!!”
But Halsey had a more serious message for her Instagram fans, explaining why it’s so important to familiarize television viewers with LGBTQ+ performances and stories. “Thank you @jadebug98 for being the bombest human being ever and bringing this vision to life. Lots of people angry because we performed the story of a wlw couple and their emotional journey,” she wrote in a post on Dec. 18. “Representation matters. I’m proud I got to put this on so many television screens tonight.” As Halsey’s angry mentions have proved, we need representation more than ever!
https://twitter.com/NOVABRASILIANA/status/1075508037618688000
You can watch Halsey’s full performance with Jade, who has 134,000 YouTube subscribers, above! This season, Halsey served as an advisor for Jennifer Hudson’s team on The Voice.