Abigail Breslin Reveals ‘Real Tea’ Behind Breakup From Pop Star

Abigail Breslin explained how she received backlash over the diss track she wrote about her ex and 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist, Michael Clifford.  “I’ve spoken about it in the press before, but like, you’re getting the real tea,” she told Christy Carlson Romano on the video podcast series Vulnerable.

Back in 2014, the 27-year-old Little Miss Sunshine actress released “You Suck,” a song that targeted the Australian musician. Following the release of the track, Breslin says she started receiving hateful messages online, and people even began “showing up outside” her home.

“It was the most traumatizing experience… because I did write the song about him basically because, you know, you’re 17, 16 or 17… and I definitely had a much bigger idea of what this relationship was than maybe he thought,” she said. “I had gotten what I felt to be ‘burned’ by him in some way, and I wrote a very bad song called You Suck about him.”

Breslin added, “I did not realize though that people would put two and two together so much; didn’t realize that the week before I released it, he was going to become this huge boy band.

“I was getting death threats sent to me. People were showing up outside of my apartment. All this crazy, crazy s—. I had this onslaught of these girls just literally hating on me.”

The lyrics of Breslin’s debut song were full of angst toward Clifford. As she starts the track, she sings, “I hate your dumb tattoo, I wish you’d fly to the moon,” referring to Clifford’s tattoo. In the next verse, she sings, “I hate the scar above your eye, it looks like you’re on drugs.” The lyrics go on to insult the singer with lines such as “you really need to learn to wash your hair” and “you’re just a dumb a— bleaching your hair.”

Clifford is known for his scruffy, bleached, and colored hair, previously sporting green, pink, and red tresses. “Thanks for the tickets to your show,” Breslin sings before adding: “I just wanted you to know all your bandmates are hotter than you.”

Clifford’s lyrics sparked fierce 5 Seconds of Summer fan reactions on Twitter, with many of his admirers attacking Breslin, with one writing: “Abigail Breslin is just a cheap useless version of Taylor Swift.” Breslin said they also started a meme of her as a “sewer rat,” photoshopping the actor’s face onto pictures of the rodent online.

Afterward, Clifford tweeted about the track, “I didn’t find your joke song funny.” “That was a very big thing for me where people then were like, and your voice sucks,” Breslin told Carlson Romano.

“And you’re like, let’s be real. The song does kind of suck a little bit. It’s not a great song. But it’s not like it’s like the Marsha Brady of insults, it’s likeI would rather date a rock … I got so many people coming after me, and then this guy also came after me and like after months when [he] resurrected it and tweeted about it and I was like ‘oh my god’ so I have this onslaught of these girls just literally hating on me.”

Following the Teen Choice Awards in August 2013, Breslin and Clifford were first spotted together. They were seen leaving Craig’s Restaurant in West Hollywood following the ceremony.

Since then, Clifford and Breslin have both married new partners. Clifford is married to Crystal Leigh, and last year, Breslin wedded businessman Ira Kunyansky.