Jade Thirlwall has recalled feeling “blackmailed” and “bribed” by male music industry professionals.
The former Little Mix star – who launched her solo career as JADE last year – has declared she is taking back control and setting new boundaries to “protect” herself after feeling “backed into a corner”.
One way she is doing this is by refusing to work with men she has never met before on her own after some bad “experiences”.
In a cover interview with Stylist magazine, she said: “In terms of the music industry, I don’t want to feel backed into a corner any more, or blackmailed or bribed: ‘If you don’t choose this as a single, you can’t have this.’ I don’t want older men’s opinions forced upon me.
I’ve grown a lot as a woman in the industry and it’s hard to navigate at times. I’ve refused to do sessions on my own with a man I’ve not met before now because of experiences I’ve had. It’s sad I have to make that decision, but it’s what I have to do to protect myself.”
The 32-year-old pop star further recalled being told “how to act and dress” by men and explained that it was always a hard balancing act of not wanting to be “overly sexualised” and wanting to “feel empowered”.
She said: “As a woman in pop music, you’re navigating this space of not being overly sexualized, but then wanting to feel empowered, wearing what you want to wear, but that doesn’t mean I’m asking for you all to comment on my body. On shoots I’d be told: ‘Be yourself, but not too much like yourself.’ I was told how to smile. How to act. And there were all these men saying: you can’t wear that, you have to do your hair like that, this isn’t pretty…”
The ‘Angel of My Dreams’ singer admits she could easily get cancelled speaking out on various issues, but she is “happy to pay the consequences”.
She said: “Cancel culture is thriving now. When you’re in the public eye, it’s quite scary. I’ve always been quite vocal, and I’m not always going to get it right. But you can’t be a pop artist right now without speaking out about certain things. I have been warned there could be consequences for speaking out about things like Palestine, but these are basic human rights. We’re seeing an attack on the trans community, and I have a very big LGBTQ+ fanbase, I can’t sit back and not be vocal about defending that community. I’m happy to pay the consequences if it means doing the right thing.”
Jade shot to fame alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson in chart-topping girl group Little Mix, who formed on ‘The X Factor’ in 2011.
She released her debut single ‘Angel of My Dreams’ in 2024 and has since released the tracks ‘Fantasy’ and ‘IT Girl’.
Meanwhile, JADE is nominated for Song of the Year for ‘Angel of My Dreams’ and Pop Act at the upcoming BRIT Awards and will also make her debut solo performance at the music bash at The O2 in London on March 1.