Rina Sawayama spoke out against The 1975’s Matty Healy during her powerful 60-minute set at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival on Saturday night. The actor and singer dedicated her song “STFU!” to her labelmate without calling him by name. Instead, she referenced the controversial comments Healy made during his February appearance on “The Adam Friedland Show” podcast.
“I wrote this next song because I was sick and tired of these microaggressions,” Sawayama said. “So tonight, this song goes out to a white man who watches Ghetto Gaggers and mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters. I’ve had enough!”
Sawayama’s “STFU!” is an anthem about someone reaching their breaking point with a person who refuses to listen. The lyrics include lines like: “How come you don’t expect me/To get mad when I’m angry?/You’ve never seen it though I know I’m not the only one/How come you don’t respect me?/Expecting fantasies/Leave our reality.”
POPSUGAR reached out to Sawayama and Healy’s label, Dirty Hit, for comment on the singer’s assertion that Healy owns her masters but did not receive an immediate response. Dirty Hit is run by Jamie Oborne, who also manages The 1975.
During his appearance on the podcast, Healy made derogatory and racist comments about Ice Spice, which included misidentifying her heritage. In the same episode, he also discussed watching pornography that degrades and brutalizes Black women. Sawayama’s comments at Glastonbury are part of a growing discourse surrounding Healy’s behavior.
Healy did go on to apologize to Ice Spice during a show in Auckland, New Zealand, in April. “I never meant to hurt anybody,” he said in videos shared on social media. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you and, Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued, it’s cause I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a d*ck. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry. I don’t want anything to be misconstrued as mean. I don’t mind being a bit of a joker . . . but I don’t want to be perceived as mean-hearted.”
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