Jesy Nelson has spoken out about her feud with Little Mix as she revealed that she hasn't talked to her former bandmates Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirwall or Leigh-Anne Pinnock since she quit the band.
Little Mix rose to fame in 2011 after winning the X Factor and went on to become one of the best selling girl bands of all time. The singer, 31 announced her decision to quit the band after nine years together in a shock statement in 2020 as she revealed she was leaving to focus on her mental health.
Jesy went on to release her BBC documentary Odd One Out as she opened up about her body issues and the intense cyberbullying she received while in the band which took a toll on her.
Although things seemed amicable between the group at the time as the remaining members publicly supported her decision, Jesy recently told The Sun that she hasn't spoken to the trio in over two years.
Here's a timeline of their public feud so far...
Jesy launches solo career
Things started to turn sour between Jesy and the Little Mix girls after the 31-year-old singer launched her own solo career just months after she quit the band.
It was then reported that Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne were not informed of her decision to leave and discovered the news through their lawyers.
Black fishing scandal
The feud worsened after Jesy released a music video for her debut single Boyz with Nicki Minaj and received backlash for "blackfishing" - a term which refers to white people presenting themselves as black or mixed race.
Jesy defended herself in a live stream as she insisted that she had just tried to make a music video similar to the style of R&B music which was her favourite music genre growing up.
She said: "I personally want to say that my intention was never, ever to offend people of colour with this video and my song because like I said, growing up as a young girl, this is the music that I listened to.
"These are the videos that I watched and thought were the best. For me personally, ’90s/2000 hip hop, R&B music was the best era of music. I just wanted to celebrate that. I just wanted to celebrate that era of music because it is what I love."
Minaj who previously collaborated with Little Mix on their 2018 hit single 'Woman Like Me' defended Jesy as she branded her other bandmates as 'jealous' of her.
Leaked messages
More fuel was added to the fire after Instagram user NoHun leaked messages appearing to show Leigh Anne accusing Jesy of blackfishing.
Following the leak, Leigh-Anne broke down in tears at her 30th birthday party during an emotional speech as she seemingly addressed the messages.
She said: "I’m 30 years old. I know my character, you know my character, anyone that meets me knows my f***ing character – and that’s all I care about."
Scathing song lyrics
Little Mix went on to release their single 'Cut You Off' which is rumoured to be about Jesy, with lyrics about cutting out a toxic person with red flags.
The lyrics inlcude: “Don’t think I believe ya, is the grass out there really greener? Are you happy now? I know you think you’re all that, it’ll be so sweet when you crawl back, but it’s too late now.”
That same month, Jesy revealed that she and her former bandmates were no longer friends.
Speaking on the Graham Norton show, she said: "We're not talking any more. It is sad but honestly there is no bad blood from my side, and I still love them to pieces and genuinely wish them all the best.
"I loved my time with them, and we've got the most incredible memories together."
Public Swipes
Jesy defended her black fishing backlash once again as she told the Guardian: "I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on. I’m very aware that I’m a white British woman; I’ve never said that I wasn’t."
But the Little Mix trio took the opportunity to address the subject matter themselves as Jade told the Independent: "Capitalising on aspects of blackness without having to endure the daily realities of the Black experience is problematic and harmful to people of colour.
"We think it’s absolutely not OK to use harmful stereotypes. There’s so much to say on that subject that it’s hard to sum up in a sound bite."
The news comes as Jesy released her second single Bad Thing last week after she launched her own solo career in October 2021. However, the singer insists she will never 'regret' being a part of Little Mix and said she'll 'always cherish the memories' she made with the girls.
She recently told The Sun, she is 'rooting' for her former band girl members and wishes them 'all the best' on their own solo careers.
In December 2021, the remaining three members of Little Mix announced they had decided to take a break from the band after they released their first album 'Between Us' one month before their split.
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