Halsey opens up about being a biracial woman who passes as white

Halsey has been on the front lines of the Black Lives Matter protests taking place in Los Angeles over the past week, calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality against the Black community. The singer has been sharing her experience at the protests on social media and encouraging others to get involved as much as possible. However, in a recent Twitter exchange, Halsey was questioned on her commitment to the movement and her own identity as a biracial woman.In a now-deleted tweet, a Twitter user criticized the singer for not using "we" when referring to the black community and ongoing racial injustice in the United States. The user accused Halsey of trying to distance herself from her Black culture.JustJared shared the text of the tweet in question, which read: “Notice how @Halsey never claims her black side, but she ‘supports.’ Stop being ignorant. She’s never claimed her Black side. This is why I will NEVER support her. On her post she says ‘let black ppl speak,’ not ‘let our ppl speak.’ Nah, f—k her.”Halsey, who has a white mother and Black father, replied to the critic and explained that her decision to not use "we" was because she knows she is afforded privileges as a white-passing person that other members of her family are not. She explained, "i am in pain for my family, but nobody is gonna kill me based on my skin color. I’ve always been proud of who I am but it’d be an absolute disservice to say ‘we’ when I’m not susceptible to the same violence."

im white passing. it’s not my place to say “we”. it’s my place to help. i am in pain for my family, but nobody is gonna kill me based on my skin color. I’ve always been proud of who I am but it’d be an absolute disservice to say “we” when I’m not susceptible to the same violence. https://t.co/2p6RVJixwl

— h (@halsey) June 3, 2020

Halsey attended a protest in Los Angeles this past weekend and quickly found herself acting as a medic for those who had been hit by rubber bullets fired by police. Sharing images and videos taken during the protests, Halsey’s posts reveal the terrifying reality of protests that begin as peaceful and descend into violent chaos once armed officers begin firing at civilians.This isn't the first time Halsey has addressed these complexities. In 2017, she was interviewed by Playboy and talked about her experience growing up in New Jersey as well as her continued efforts to understand her own identity.[video_embed id='1969019']RELATED: Michael B. Jordan, Halsey, Jamie Foxx attend Black Lives Matter protests [/video_embed]“I’m white-passing,” Halsey said. “I’ve accepted that about myself and have never tried to control anything about Black culture that’s not mine. I’m proud to be in a biracial family, I’m proud of who I am, and I’m proud of my hair. I look like a White girl, but I don’t feel like one. I’m a Black woman. So it’s been weird navigating that.”Since the interview took place one year into Donald Trump’s presidency, Halsey also noted she recognized things in America were changing and not necessarily for the better. "In my bubble of Los Angeles I’m surrounded by a lot of good people with a lot of good intentions. But as I learned in this past election, my bubble is just a small fraction of how this country operates,” She said. “That is ultimately my greatest frustration with the public perception of any sort of activism: the mentality of Well, it’s not affecting me. Open your f---ing eyes."[video_embed id='1970253']BEFORE YOU GO: Keke Palmer’s empowering talk with National Guard goes viral [/video_embed]