Halsey tearfully talks about Lucky after Britney Spears fracas (2024)

Halsey posted a video tearfully addressing the fan reactions to her soul-baring new single Lucky, which she released on Friday.

The song touches on the 29-year-old's attempts to keep up a glittering public façade while secretly battlinglupus and a rare T-cell disorder.

In both the lyrics and the music video, Halsey drew heavy inspiration from Britney Spears' 2000 song of the same name about a celebrity hiding her private misery.

Although Halsey previously said she got Britney's 'blessing' for the reference, Britney posted a furious social media message in response to the new song on Friday, saying she felt 'violated' and threatening to sue.

Britney later deleted the post and claimed it was uploaded by someone else, prompting Halsey to write on X (formerly Twitter): 'and I love Britney!!!!'

Now Halsey has turned her attention to the outpouring of fan response.

'So it’s late and Lucky came out today — the video and the song — and I just feel really overwhelmed and really grateful and been waiting a really long time to share this part of my journey,' Halsey said, becoming visibly emotional.

'And I just wanted to say that I’ve been reading — I’ve been reading comments from so many people who’ve been through, or going through, some of the things that I have been writing about,' she disclosed.

'And, just wanted to say a special thank you to those of you who are in that position, and seeing yourself or seeing your story or journey or a part of it in what I’ve been making and releasing. And I just wanted to say that I love you and I’m here for you and we are in this together and yeah. Thank you so much.'

Halsey previouslyresponded to Britney shortly after the Princess of Pop deleted a slamming post over her new music video, Lucky, which officially dropped on Friday.

In addition to liberally sampling Britney's lyrics, Halsey also channeled Britney's early 2000s look in the new music video.

However, Britney initially stated that she was 'upset' and threatened to sue Halsey over the music video — before deleting the post and claiming her phone was hacked.

In response, the mother-of-one cleared the air and wrote on X: 'and I love Britney!!!!'

'I always have and always will you were the first person who ever made me realize what it means to feel inspired. And you continue to inspire me everyday.'

Shortly before, Britney jumped to her own account on X due to taking down her Instagram account one day earlier on Thursday - which has since been reactivated.

'For obvious reasons I'm very upset about the Halsey video,' Britney had written. 'I feel harassed, violated, and bullied.'

'I didn't know an artist like her and someone I looked up to and admired would illustrate me in such an ignorant way by tailoring me as a superficial pop star with no heart or concern at all.'

Spearsthen explained, 'I have my own heath problems which is why I took down my IG account yesterday. I will definitely be putting it back up to show I CARE.'

'I'm speaking with my lawyers today to see what can be done on this matter,' Spears said towards the end of her post. 'It feels illegal and downright cruel.'

However, the post was soon deleted - with the star explaining on X that she wasn't the one who uploaded the statement.

'Fake news !!! That was not me on my phone !!! I love Halsey and that's why I deleted it!!!' she penned, followed by a red rose emoji.

Halsey channeled Spears in the Lucky music video that was released on Friday - with the tune inspired by Britney's 2000 track of the same name.

In the lyrics, the mother-of-one references to her recent health struggles, after revealing her battle with Lupus SLE and also 'a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.'

'I shaved my head four times because I wanted to/ and then I did it one more time cause I got sick/ I thought I changed so much nobody would notice s***, and no one did,' she sang at one point.

'Then I left the doctor's office full of tears / Became a single mom at my premiere / I told everybody I was fine for a whole damn year, and that's the biggest lie of my career.'

In the chorus of Britney's version, she could be heard singing, 'She's so lucky, she's a star, but she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking, "If there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?"'

However, Halsey altered the lyrcis to sing in first person. 'But I'm so lucky, I'm a star, but I cry, cry, cry in the lonely heart thinking, "If there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?"'

After teasing a glimpse of the music video, Halsey also revealed that she had gotten Britney's 'blessing' to sample the 2000 track.

Earlier last week, a social media user questioned the Without Me singer if Spears had been 'involved' with the new single.

The star then replied to the fan by typing out, 'yes of course! I wouldn't even dream of doing it without her blessing!'

Her new Lucky music video was directed by Gia Coppola - the granddaughter of acclaimed director, Francis Ford Coppola.

Simon Rex - who is known for starring in the Scary Movie franchise - also made a cameo in the video.

As news broke that she was sampling Britney's song, fans dug up an old interview that caused Halsey to be accused of slighting Spears.

She explained in 2017 that she had recently come to regard herself as a CEO after realizing she controlled more of her work than other pop stars.

'At first, it was naivete,' she told Fast Company. 'I thought every artist did everything themselves. I thought Britney Spears wrote her own music - I thought every superstar was designing their own live stage show, so I always just did those things.'

After the interview went public, social media commentators started saying Halsey had taken a swipe at Britney - prompting Halsey to respond on social media.

'Most stuff is easy to ignore but that one hurts cause I just love her and have always spoken highly of her and her genius is undeniable,' she wrote on Twitter.

'I love Britney so much and I wish people weren't spreading stuff,' she insisted. 'All I said was it takes a lot of people to complete a song.'

Lucky is the second single from Halsey's forthcoming fifth studio album, coming nearly two months after she released its lead single The End.

The End was a mournful acoustic ballad about someone throwing herself into a romance while battling a life-threatening illness.

Halsey, who has declared a preference for both 'she' and 'they' pronouns, has yet to reveal the title or release date of her next album.

Last month in June, Halsey opened up about her health battle to her fans. In a post shared to Instagram at the time, she explained, 'In 2022, I was first diagnosed with Lupus SLE and then a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.'

'Both of which are currently being managed or in remission; and both of which I will likely have for the duration of my life.'

However, she positively added, 'After a rocky start, I slowly got everything under control with the help of amazing doctors.'

'After 2 years, I'm feeling better and I'm more grateful than ever to have music to turn to,' the mother-of-one continued. 'I can't wait to get back where I belong: With you all. Singing and screaming my heart out.'

In a separate post, she also opened up about her health battle in series of videos that appeared to document the singer receiving infusions and also showed her breaking down in tears.

In 2022, Halsey shared on Instagram that she had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjogre's syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome - known as MCAS - and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, known as POTS.

The singer also suffers from endometriosis, and gave her followers an update earlier this year in March after undoing a procedure

The Bad At Love singer has also previously revealed her ADHD and bipolar disorder diagnosis.