Halsey calls out Victoria's Secret Show: 'I have no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity'
The singer performed at this year’s show
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Your support makes all the difference.Pop singer Halsey has spoken out about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’s lack of diversity saying that she has "no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity".
Writing on Instagram, the 24-year-old loosely referenced comments made by chief marketing officer Ed Razek, who, in an interview that came out shortly before the event was filmed, said he didn’t think “transsexuals” should walk the runway “because the show is a fantasy”.
The show made its TV debut in the US on Sunday evening, prompting the musician to take the opportunity to call Razek out to her 10.2m followers.
“After I filmed the performance, some comments were made regarding the show that I simply cannot ignore,” she wrote.
“As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity, especially not one motivated by stereotypes.”
She urged her followers to direct their attention to GLSEN, a New York-based organisation that provides support to young members of the LGBT+ community, and added that she had made a “sizeable donation”.
Halsey concluded her post by addressing transgender people, writing: “If you are a trans person reading this, and these comments have made you feel alienated or invalidated please know that we stand in solidarity and complete and total acceptance is the only ‘fantasy’ that I support.”
The “Sorry” singer’s post was well received by fans, garnering more than 244,000 likes in less than 24 hours.
“Thank you so much Halsey, it really means the world to all of your trans sisters,” commented one person, “we obviously knew that you would never stand behind the opinions expressed by VS, but appreciate you speaking up anyway. Thank you.”
Another added, “Thank you for sharing on this when it would have been easy to stay silent.”
Razek has since apologised for his comments, which he made in an interview with US Vogue.
“My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologize,” he said in a statement published on the brand’s Twitter page.
“To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show,” he continued.
“We’ve had transgender models come to castings... And like many others, they didn’t make it... But it was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”
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