Why Halsey Regrets Return to Music After ‘Lucky’ Backlash

Halsey chose to be vulnerable in her new “Lucky” music video — but didn’t think her fans would be so hurtful in response.

“My own fans are hands down meaner to me than any other people on the planet,” the singer, 29, wrote via her Tumblr on Tuesday, July 30.

Halsey noted that she was “speaking for all of you, of course,” explaining that her fandom appears to have become harsher since she last released music. (Halsey’s most recent album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, came out in 2021. Three years later she dropped the singles “The End” and “Lucky.”)

“It used to be just a minority that were awful to me and now it seems like a majority have only stuck around to chime in occasionally with their opinion of how much they hate me or how awful I am,” she continued.

The pop star confessed, “It’s hard to want to engage in a space that is completely devoid of any kindness, sympathy, patience; or to be honest human decency. Especially after years of hiding from the interactions for fear that this EXACT thing would happen.”

Halsey admitted that she doesn’t know where to go from here. “I almost lost my life,” she shared. “I am not gonna do anything that doesn’t make me happy anymore. I can’t spiritually afford it.”

When Halsey began battling Lupus SLE and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder, she said her music was part of what kept her going. “When I got sick all I could think about was getting better so I could come back and be a part of THIS again, but I don’t even know what *this* is anymore,” she continued.

After all the negative comments, she said, “I want to crawl in a hole, and I regret coming back.”

Following a break from music, Halsey made her comeback last month with the release of “The End.” In the song, she opened up about her health journey and gave fans a look at her ups and downs during treatment.

“After 2 years, I’m feeling better and I’m more grateful than ever to have music to turn to,” she wrote via Instagram in June. “I can’t wait to get back where I belong: With you all Singing and screaming my heart out.”

Earlier this month, she once again gave music listeners insight into her lupus and cancer battle with the “Lucky” music video.

The video, however, caused some fans to criticize Halsey for sampling Britney Spears’ single by the same name off her Oops! … I Did It Again album.

In the video, Halsey transported fans to the late ‘90s and early 2000s with her wardrobe and the setting. She also depicts the dark side of fame, like what Spears, 42, was experiencing when she released her hit track.

Before releasing the song, Halsey said she got permission from Spears to include the chorus on her tune. However, Spears seemingly slammed Halsey’s video writing in a since-deleted X post that she felt “harassed, violated and bullied” by the piece.

Spears then quickly issued a statement via X on Friday, July 26, claiming that she wasn’t the one who posted the harsh critique of Halsey’s video. “Fake news !!! That was not me on my phone !!!” Spears explained. “I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it 🌹 !!!”

Halsey, meanwhile, posted a second message on Tuesday regarding her recent highs and lows. She revealed she was on her way to a PET scan and had chosen to upload “Lucky (Stripped)” even with all the backlash.

“This is the insane irony my life has become,” Halsey wrote, once again reminding her fans, “I’m a person. Not a character in a music video.”