JADE Calls Out Pop Stars – Including Matty Healy – Who Don’t use Their Platform for Political Change

JADE has criticized her pop peers – including The 1975’s Matty Healy for avoiding politics at Glastonbury 2025, saying “I don’t think you can be a pop artist and cover your eyes”.

via: Pink News

The former Little Mix star, whose full name is Jade Thirlwall, told The Guardian that she doesn’t think it’s right for celebrities to turn a blind eye to what is happening in the world.

“I don’t think you can be a pop artist and cover your eyes,” she said, before directly referring to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.

“I saw Matty Healy say that he doesn’t want to be political, which I found disappointing. It’s very easy for someone who’s white and straight and very privileged to say that. Good for you, hun!”

During The 1975’s headline sat on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury back in June, Healy said that he didn’t want the band’s legacy to be about politics.

“We don’t want our legacy to be one of politics. We want it to be one of love and friendship,” he said, in a somewhat surprising statement given how Healy has spoken extensively about his own political views in the past.

Throughout her career, and especially since blasting into solo stardom last year, JADE has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. More recently, she has spoken out in support of a free Palestine.

During her own set at Glastonbury on the Woodsies stage, the 32-year-old “Plastic Box” singer started a chant with the crowd, taking aim at the right-wing, British political party Reform UK.

“Reform, f*** you; welfare cuts, f*** you,” she chanted, with the crowd shouting along.

“Transphobia, f*** you; silencing protests, f*** you; selling arms, f*** you; justifying genocide, f*** you,” she continued.

Back in May, while performing at LGBTQ+ music festival Mighty Hoopla, JADE led the crowd in a pro-trans chant, and took aim at author JK Rowling, whose views on the transgender community are well documented.

The day before JADE’s interview with The Guardian was published, an interview with her former bandmate Perrie Edwards was published in The Telegraph, in which she argued pop stars shouldn’t feel pressure to speak out about politics.

“The best thing is for women to have a choice. If you want to be political on stage, be political! If you want to keep away from that sh*t and focus on other things then do that,” she said.

“I don’t think women should have to go through a tick box checklist: am I political enough? Am I ‘proud and sexy’ enough? Am I covering up enough?”

JADE’s debut album That’s Showbiz Baby is due for release on 12 September.