Halsey Talks Feeling 'Shame' Due to Criticism Over Pregnancy: 'I Got Treated Like a Teen Mom'

Halsey opened up about welcoming baby Ender while preparing for their album, If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

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Published on August 27, 2021 12:17 PM

Halsey is opening up about their experience being pregnant while in the spotlight.

The 26-year-old singer recently welcomed their first child, baby Ender Ridley Aydin, with boyfriend, screenwriter Alev Aydin and have been enjoying life as a new parent. Additionally, they dropped their fourth studio album, If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power, on Friday Aug. 27. Prior to the release, Halsey got candid about the intersection of parenthood and their career in an interview with Zane Lowe on New Music Daily on Apple Music 1.

"I'm 26, and I tried very hard for this pregnancy and it was like, I'm financially independent, I'm pretty far along in my career, it feels like the right time for me to do it," they told Lowe.

Despite Halsey's pregnancy being planned, the artist said others questioned their decision to expand their family amid a bustling career.

"I got treated like a teen mom a lot of the times, you know what I mean? Where people were like, 'Oh my God, you're so young, and you have so much to do in your career, and you're not married and you're this,'" Halsey said, noting that the criticism triggered "feelings of shame."

But, the "Bad at Love" singer shared that they realized whether they had a child now or waited until they accomplished more in their career, there would always be someone criticizing their decisions.

"So f— 'em and I just was like, I'm going to do what I want to do. You know what I mean? I was like, this is important to me," they added.

Halsey explained that there's also a constant "weight" placed on female artists where they're taught that time is the "enemy." The singer said they quickly noticed a difference in treatment, telling Lowe that they missed out on multiple opportunities to promote the album with magazines due to their pregnancy.

"We were going out and trying to set up magazine covers based around the album release, and they were like, 'Yeah, but is she going to be pregnant? Because we don't want to do a maternity cover.' And I was like, it's not a maternity cover. It's about my album, I just happen to be pregnant. And they're like, 'No, it's a pregnant cover.' And I was like, so I can't go talk about my album?" they explained during the interview.

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The musician explained to Lowe, however, that since welcoming baby Ender in July, they "feel so full of gratitude at the same time."

"I can't think of anything that could possibly make this moment in my life better."

Days before giving birth last month, the "Eastside" singer shared photos of the cover for their album and theatrical film, If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power — which they described as "a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth."

The cover shows Halsey elegantly seated on a golden throne with a crown atop their head, as their breast is placed outside of their dress while holding a baby. It's a design, they said, that will hopefully de-stigmatize breastfeeding and postpartum body image.

"This image is my means of reclaiming my autonomy and establishing my pride and strength as a life force for my human being," they wrote on Instagram at the time.

Halsey continued, "This cover image celebrates pregnant and postpartum bodies as something beautiful, to be admired. We have a long way to go with eradicating the social stigma around bodies & breastfeeding. I hope this can be a step in the right direction!"