A post shared by halsey (@iamhalsey) on Jan 13, 2017 at 11:13am PST
Halsey has talked about her bipolar disorder a lot since revealing her diagnosis in 2015. Receiving praise from fans, the singer talked openly about a past suicide attempt last year. Now, she’s turning to former legends for advice and guidance. For the latest issue of Teen Vogue, the singer sat down for a one-on-one with Debbie Harry. During their conversation, Halsey and Harry touched on feminism, maintaining mental wellness, and knowing who your real friends are.
“I got diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 16,” Halsey told Harry. “It’s a royal pain in the ass. When you’re a person with a platform, there’s this necessity to constantly be sound of mind and well behaved and calm and politically correct.”
Harry responded, “Females have a lot more to deal with hormonally than men. You have to have a great deal of patience and forgiveness for yourself.”
Harry, 71, and Halsey, 22, together as a Thelma and Louise-esque duo — building women up while knocking misogyny down — makes sense. The two women have consistently been vocal about their experiences as women in a male-dominated industry. Harry has used her platform to speak against ageism within Hollywood. “Regardless of what I say about trying to be better at what I do, I rely on looks a lot,” Harry admitted once. “Women’s calling cards, unfortunately, are based on their looks. As far as ageing goes, it’s rough.”
Despite the industry’s prejudices, Harry is still cranking out new music. Blondie released its 11th studio album, Pollinator, in May, featuring songs written by Sia, Charli XCX, and Dev Hynes.
Halsey, who has a new album coming out in June, has also consistently shared a feminist message with her fans. The singer frequently takes stabs at the patriarchy with 140 characters or less, once tweeting, “Virginity is a social construct designed to shame women. Don’t fear your sexuality. It’s yours to own or to preserve.”
At this rate, who knows what profound advice Halsey will be offering up to the next generation of pop singers when she’s 71 herself.
Credits
Text André-Naquian Wheeler