Halsey Got Real About Being Shamed For Having A Baby At 26
“I'm going to do what I want to do.”
ICYMI: Halsey gave birth to a baby boy, named Ember, in July. Not only does the newborn have a cool name, but when he grows up, he can also say he was the ~inspiration~ behind his mama’s latest album, If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power (out August 27). The album’s theme was heavily influenced by the “Without Me” singer’s experience with parenthood and childbirth, and recently, she opened up about criticisms she’s faced as a new parent. Halsey’s quotes about being shamed for having a baby are so valid.
Ever since announcing their pregnancy in January, Halsey has been v candid about their pregnancy journey. In July, they also revealed that their new LP — which features a cover photo of the singer sitting at a throne with a baby — would be a “concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth.” So, it seemed pretty dang obvious that the Manic artist was super serious about her future as a mother. However, on a recent episode of Apple Music 1’s New Music Daily, Halsey noted that not everyone was taking her pregnancy seriously when she first announced it. Ugh.
“I'm 26, and I tried very hard for this pregnancy,” they told Zane Lowe. “And it was like, I'm financially independent, I'm pretty far along in my career, it feels like the right time for me to do it. [But] I got treated like a teen mom a lot of the times, you know what I mean? Where people were like, 'Oh my God, you're so young, and you have so much to do in your career, and you're not married and you're this...”
Halsey’s August 27 interview with Lowe is not the first time she’s made it clear she “tried very hard” to conceive a baby. Back in March, when they dismissed rumors of accidental pregnancy, they clapped back on their IG story with a thoughtful question: “Why is it ok to speculate and pass judgment about fertility and conception?”
However, haters continued hating — so Halsey said IDGAF. “So [I said] f*ck 'em and I just was like, I'm going to do what I want to do,” the recording artist told Lowe. “You know what I mean? I was like, this is important to me. I can't think of anything that could possibly make this moment in my life better [than having a child].”
According to Halsey, some magazines were hesitant to feature a pregnant person on their covers. “We were going out and trying to set up magazine covers based around the album release,” the singer said, “and [the publications] were like, 'Yeah, but is she going to be pregnant? Because we don't want to do a maternity cover.’”
They then explained that despite emphasizing the cover story would be about their *album*, the magazines insisted her appearance would make for a “pregnant cover.” “I was like, so I can't go talk about my album?" they recalled.
Sigh. It sucks that Halsey had to deal with all those negative vibes throughout her pregnancy, but hopefully their honesty helps tear down the stigma surrounding pregnancy and motherhood.
