Halsey Opens Up About Being A 'White-Passing' Black Woman

In this year's music issue of Playboy magazine, Halsey opened up about being able to "pass" as white, her biracial family and identifying as a black woman. 

Born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, the singer has a white mother and black father. While speaking to the publication, Halsey said that she loves her background. She also admitted that she didn't understand why she was perceived as white when she was younger.

“I’m white-passing. I’ve accepted that about myself and have never tried to control anything about black culture that’s not mine,” she told Playboy. “I’m proud to be in a biracial family, I’m proud of who I am, and I’m proud of my hair.”

Halsey continued: “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. When I was growing up, I didn’t know if I was supposed to love TLC or Britney.”

The star also spoke about "white guilt" and how people who live around her in Los Angeles, California feel about social activism. “White guilt is funny, but this is a really hard time for white allies. People don’t want to do too much but want to do enough, and in my bubble of Los Angeles I’m surrounded by a lot of good people with a lot of good intentions,“ Halsey said. 

“But as I learned in this past election, my bubble is just a small fraction of how this country operates. 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**king eyes.”

Photo: Getty Images


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