Capitol Records is parting ways with the singer Halsey, who insists upon using “she/they” pronouns for her.
Halsey’s managers, Anti-Pop’s Jason Aron and Anthony Li, wrote, “After eight great years the decision to leave Capitol is bittersweet, but we are excited about exploring a new partnership and sharing new music with fans.”
A spokesman for Capitol Records told This Daily Double, “Everyone at Capitol poured their hearts and souls into helping Halsey achieve their dreams and present their music to the world. We are incredibly proud of all we accomplished together and wish Halsey the very best in all their future endeavors.”
In 2021, Halsey wrote to Allure Magazine on Twitter, “hey @Allure_magazine. First your writer made a focal point in my cover story my pronouns and you guys deliberately disrespected them by not using them in the article.” The tweets have since been deleted.
She said she hates “doing press because I get exploited and misquoted.”
“The inclusion of ‘they,’ in addition to ‘she,’ feels most authentic to me. If you know me at all you know what it means to me to express this outwardly. Thanks for being the best,” she said.
“The severance comes about a year after Halsey took a dispute with the record company public on social media, which seemed to end peacefully at the time. The artist was believed to have been negotiating an exit strategy with Capitol during recent months,” reported Variety.
“Halsey’s grievances with Capitol went very public in 2022, when the artist was putting out a new track, ‘So Good.’ Halsey took to social media to complain that the label was declining to put the fresh song out unless the artist would concoct a TikTok campaign around it. Eventually, a detente seemed to have been reached, with ‘So Good’ hitting DSPs as Capitol issued a conciliatory statement.”
Now, Halsey is a free agent, and it is unclear if she will part for another record label. All four of Halsey’s albums have reached either No. 1 or No. 2 on the Billboard 200.