Jade Thirlwall is opening up about allyship, as well as her incredible career with Little Mix.
The 28-year-old girl group member spoke out in an interview with Interview Magazine.
Here’s what she had to say…
On her gay fans: “I think, as the years passed, it became more and more apparent to me that we had a huge LGBTQ+ fan base. That initiated the ally journey, and making sure that the fans felt like they had an artist that they can look up to who said, ‘It’s okay to be yourself.’ If you’re going to benefit from a fan base, you have to show them exactly that you support them and you stand with them, no matter what. So that’s kind of what we’ve done.”
On becoming a better ally to the LGBT community: “I would say, up until maybe five years ago, I was what I would call a ‘basic bitch’ ally. As in, I would go to the gay bars, I was there, doing the thing, and I was obviously an ally of some sort, but I wasn’t doing enough to advocate or really show what allyship truly meant. That kind of dawned on me, the more I received letters from fans or DMs and social media messages, and that helped spur me on to do it properly: to be more of an ally-activist, work with the right charities, say more, and use our platform for the better. I feel like I can always be better, so I’m constantly trying to learn more about history. Around the world, we have fans in territories where there still needs to be a lot of progress—for me, coming from an Arab background, it’s really important to show fans that they have somebody to fight for them, and give them something to embrace and love, and help them feel good about themselves.”
On lockdown: “Last year actually, in hindsight, it kind of helped in a way. I think with lockdown and stuff, everyone was creative and feeling good, you know, people wanted music and melodies that made you sing along and lift your spirits. Lady Gaga released Chromatica last year, and that was a godsend album for me. [It] really helped me through that period and helped create that love again for absolute pop and I’m so here for it. The new tracks on the Between Us album, are about reminding everyone exactly who Little Mix is, and why our fans fell in love with us in the first place.”
On how she feels about Little Mix’s legacy: “Icons, darling. I think it’s incredible, for not only a pop act, but a girl band to have been around for 10 years and to have achieved all the things we’ve achieved. It still blows my mind, it honestly doesn’t sink in properly, ever. I’m so grateful for each day of it, and am honestly still genuinely loving it. I think back then, when I was first put in the band, I knew it was special — it almost felt, as cheesy as it sounds, like fate. I just had a good feeling about it, but I never thought it would be this big.”
