Hilary Duff has addressed the backlash over the headline-grabbing lyrics in her new single Roommates, saying she was stunned by how shocked some listeners were — especially longtime fans who still associate her with her Disney Channel past.
The former child star, who is best known for playing the titular role in Disney’s Lizzie McGuire, includes a reference to porn and masturbation, a line that quickly went viral and sparked a wave of commentary online.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the 38-year-old actress and singer said she didn’t expect the reaction to be quite so dramatic.
She said: “I think that probably my initial reaction was like, ‘Oh, they just haven’t, like, evolved yet.’ And I don’t care at all.
“One of the craziest comments that I saw was like, ‘And do you do that in front of your children?’ And I was like, ‘No, what? Are you OK?’”
Hilary added that some people even questioned whether her kids – Luca, 13, whom she has with ex-husband Mike Comrie, and Banks, seven, Mae, four, and 21-month-old Townes with spouse Matthew Koma – sing the track.
She continued: “And I’m like, I’m not making music for my kids. I’m not making music for seven-year-olds. I’m making music for myself. I’m making music for people like myself.”
The teen idol emphasised that the song was “meant to be polarising,” not deliberately raunchy, and that the lyrics reflect the emotional tension of a relationship drifting into roommate territory.
She explained: “Like, it’s a plea and I think that’s relatable to women.”
Hilary noted that she took “lyrical liberties” to capture the frustration of a romantic lull.
She went on: “It was important for me that the song felt very polarising because that’s how it feels in a moment of a lull in a relationship where you’re just like, ‘I need to sort this out. I need to get through this. I can’t keep feeling this way.’”
Roommates appears on Hilary’s recently released sixth studio album luck… or something, which she created with her husband and longtime collaborator.