Singer Halsey apologized for a tweet calling for the “collapse” of Pitchfork, which is based in One World Trade Center in New York City, after the site gave her new album Manic a mixed review. Halsey deleted her original tweet after she was called out for it, then issued an apology, which has also been deleted. The “Without Me” singer appeared to blast media coverage of the situation, calling it “click bait garbage.”
On Wednesday, Pitchfork published its review of Manic, giving the record a 6.5/10 rating. When the outlet tweeted a link to the review, it included the line “Too much of this album sounds like the amorphous pop that you might associate with a miserable Lyft ride.”
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“Can the basement that they run p*tchfork our of just collapse already,” Halsey wrote in response.
The negative reaction was swift, as many pointed out that Pitchfork‘s offices are located at One World Trade Center in Manhattan.
“Losing my mind thinking about the person on Halsey’s team who had to tell her she just called for the collapse of One World Trade,” NBC News reporter Ben Kesslen wrote.
Halsey deleted her original tweet and retweeted Kesslen’s tweet with an apology.
“ABSOLUTELY deleted it upon realizing this,” Halsey wrote. “Was just trying to make a joke! Intended zero harm. Just figured I could poke at them back with the same aloof passive aggression they poke at artists with! Clearly a misunderstanding.”
Halsey deleted this post as well, but she shared a reaction to the media coverage the incident gave birth to. “Click bait garbage,” she simply wrote on Thursday afternoon.
This is not the first time a negative Pitchfork review sparked a surprising response from an artist. In April 2019, the site gave Lizzo’s breakthough album Cuz I Love You a 6.5/10. The writer even called Lizzo “clearly a talent,” but it was not complimentary enough for Lizzo.
“PEOPLE WHO ‘REVIEW’ ALBUMS AND DONT MAKE MUSIC THEMSELVES SHOULD BE UNEMPLOYED,” Lizzo wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
Halsey’s Manic was released on Jan. 17, and features the singles “Without Me,” “Graveyard,” “Clementine,” “Finally // Beautiful Stranger,” “Suga’s Interlude” and “You Should Be Sad.” On Saturday, she will perform on the mid-season premiere of Saturday Night Live.
Halsey was shut out of the 2020 Grammy nominations. Although she was saddened by the results, she told fans not to waste their time being angry.
“My fans, please do not waste your anger or frustration,” Halsey tweeted on Nov. 20. “I see a lot of you are upset. Of course [I’m] sad too. None of it matters. Literally none of it. You’re here. [I’m] here. + everything is gonna stay exactly the same and without me is still a super tight, record breaking song.”
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