The 1975’s Matty Healy apologizes to Ice Spice after use of ethnic slurs, mock Asian accent
By Carl Samson
May 11, 2023
The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has apologized to Ice Spice for possibly offending her months after he speculated on her ethnicity and used mock Chinese and Hawaiian accents on a podcast.
Healy’s controversial comments came during a February episode of “The Adam Friedland Show,” when the hosts played a clip of Ice Spice talking about her love for alternative music — mentioning band The 1975 — in an earlier interview with Elle.
Somehow, the clip led to the hosts and Healy speculating on Ice Spice’s ethnic background. They joked about the rapper sounding like an “Inuit Spice Girl” or a “chubby Chinese lady” and went on to mimic Chinese and Hawaiian accents.
At some point, one of the men used an Inuit ethnic slur. Healy also encouraged and joined the hosts in making impressions of Japanese people working in concentration camps.
The conversation also included jokes about women’s periods and accusations that Harry Styles had been given a “pass” at queerbaiting. Early on, Healy allegedly told Friedland that he would “f*ck” Friedland’s sister because “she’s hot.”
The podcast episode was pulled from Apple and Spotify last month.
However, it is still available on YouTube with 189,000 views and counting.
The revelation came in November 2022 after a Twitter user suggested that she has the genetics of the Igbo, an ethnic group in Nigeria.
“I’m Nigerian but IDK which tribe, maybe you’re right,” the “Munch” rapper wrote. “Dominican too, chill sisters.”
Healy, who also allegedly called Ice Spice “dumb” during the podcast, publicly apologized to the rapper at a recent New Zealand show, claiming that he was only joking and that his remarks were “misconstrued.”
Notably, Healy has not apologized for his use of ethnic slurs and mock Chinese and Hawaiian accents.
I just feel a bit bad, and I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you. Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a dick. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry. I don’t want it to be misconstrued as mean. I don’t mind being a bit of a joker… but I am genuinely sorry if I’ve upset them because I f*cking love them.
This is not the first time Healy has sparked controversy.
Earlier this year, the English singer was accused of doing the Nazi salute onstage, which some have defended as an act to mock Ye.
Ice Spice, for her part, has not reacted to Healy’s comments. She most recently collaborated with Nicki Minaj for the song “Princess Diana.”
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