We haven’t really followed much of the drama in the popular group Fifth Harmony, but I remember covering a story where member Normani Kordei quit Twitter temporarily after being racially cyberbullied. It all stemmed from an alleged feud she had with another member, Camila Cabello, with some fans of Camila’s hurling racial insults at Normani. That’s pretty standard for the cesspool that is unregulated Twitter, and that’s not on Camila. Some of you commented that Camila was allegedly caught favoriting racist things online, although the articles claiming that are based on old, unverified social media accounts thought to belong to her. There’s no love lost between Camila and Normani, is what I’m saying, and from what I heard Camila isn’t close with the other women in the group, either. That seems to be borne out by the fact that Camila has quit Fifth Harmony, and an official statement by the group states that she did it by informing them through her rep that she wasn’t returning. Apparently she quit as soon as her contract ran out. Here’s Fifth Harmony’s statement:
This story gets more complicated with a follow up statement Camila put on Twitter yesterday. It’s long and is in an image of text which lacks capitalization, I’ve embedded the whole thing below this story, and here are the highlights in more easily readable text form. She writes that the other group members were well aware that she was leaving as they talked about it often and that she was blindsided by the groups announcement that they were blindsided by her departure:
“I was shocked to read the statement the Fifth Harmony account posted without my knowing. The girls were aware of my feelings through the long, much needed conversations about the future that we had during our tour. Saying that they were just informed through my representatives that I was ‘leaving the group’ is simply not true. Just like the other girls said in their statement about their plans, I did not intend to end things with Fifth Harmony this way. As sad as it is to see this chapter ending this way, I will continue to root them all on as individuals and as a group, I wish nothing but the best for them, all the success in the world and true happiness.”
[From Twitter]
Ok, so case closed right? Now there are follow-up stories to Camila’s statement, in both US and People, claiming that the group was indeed shocked by Camila’s abrupt departure and that while they were aware there were problems they had no idea she would be leaving so soon. Plus they claim that they tried to have multiple meetings with Camila and the other members, including with a therapist, and that she refused to attend.
“The four remaining girls have tried to set up multiple meetings over the past few months, including an intervention-like sit-down with everyone involved, and Camila did not show,” the source tells PEOPLE. “She would not show up for these meetings, ever. They even flew a therapist out on the road with them on tour so they could sit down and have group therapy. They kept trying to talk to her to understand what was happening. Camila did not show. She wanted no part in any of this.” – People
“Nobody else in the band or their team knew until last night when the lawyers told management,” the insider tells Us Weekly of Cabello’s exit. “They knew she wanted to go solo eventually down the line, but nobody knew it was happening last night. It was always going to be open-ended, where she did solo projects but would came back and work with the group at one point… “The girls have been trying to have meetings with Camila for a year to discuss her solo career and plan their future and she would never do it and refused,” the source adds. – US Weekly
I don’t have a opinion on this except to say that this back and forth reflects poorly on the band. I’ve heard from some of you that you wouldn’t be surprised if Camila tried to go solo a la Zayn, so here you go, that’s happening. It’s worth noting that she’s only 19 years old and that the other young women in the band range from 19 to 23. They’re all very young. Camila does have a single out with Machine Gun Kelly called “Bad Things,” that’s on her Twitter account now, and she had another single which came out over the summer called “Power in Me.” Speaking of Twitter, fans don’t seem too broken up about Camila leaving. If you look through the tag #FourthHarmony they seem pretty happy about it. Fifth Harmony will continue on without Camila, of course. An insider tells US “There will be no new name or member” and that they’re working on new material.
After I wrote this story I found yet another official follow up which Fifth Harmony released. They really should have left it alone, especially after the “source” quotes in major celebrity outlets, but here you go:
— Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) December 19, 2016
Photos credit: WENN
Don’t know much about the band, except for a couple of their songs. But their fans seem to be on a whole extra level of crazy.
The fans are next level crazy. I don’t remember being that nutty when I was 16, but my little cousin is obsessed with this band. Apparently the so-called fans are always coming up with these negative stories about certain members (despite claiming to be fans), harassing the other members or their family/friends, and some of the harassment devolved into some really ugly, racist bile. It kind of reminds me of the Cumberbatch super fans who accuse him of having a fake marriage to his wife and slam him yet obsessively follow them. Fan culture has become pretty nutty with the rise of social media/online media and the crazies feel like they own celebrities.
I’ve listened to a few songs and they aren’t particularly talented. They’ll fade like most other groups. Out of all the boy and girl bands, I think Zayn is the only one who will have a career IF he gets better management and starts touring more.
I saw some alleged screen shots of Cabela’s texts, she said some awful racist stuff too, if they are real.
I watched them when they were on X-factor a few years ago and have listened to a lot of their music, including covers that they’ve done (both as a group and some of them individually). I do think they’re talented, with Lauren and Dinah Jane being the best. (Dinah Jane in particular has always had a great voice). Ali is the weak link. Little Mix has better songs though, even though I think Fifth harmony has them beat in “number of singers who sound good on their own and don’t sound like a carbon copy of another member of their group on their singles.” Perrie Edwards is amazing, but sometimes on Little Mix songs it sounds like there are only 2 or 3 different girls singing instead of 4.
Yep stan twitter is the worst. I steer clear of it. Saying that they are overprotective and delusional is an understatement.
There is no boy or girl band that I find exciting at the moment. I only like a couple of 5H songs.
But I agree, Zayn is very promising in my opinion, I’m looking forward to seeing which kind of sound his 2nd album will have, I’m hoping for some songs with a Pakistani influence, but the problem is his inability to do traditional promo (live TV) and to tour since this is how artists make money now. It stops him from reaching a bigger audience. Luckily he’s already rich I guess.
Their fans are insane. The reason Lauren was forced to come out is because a fan posted a photo of her kissing a girl. The fan justified it by saying Lauren should be proud…no matter if Lauren was ready to come out.
Camila’s fans started the racist bullying of Normani. And those screenshots were basically the nail in the coffin of any good will between camila and the others (particularly Normani and Ally).
Good luck Camila. Zayn’s career has been nothing noteworthy and 1D was HUGE. 5H is there but not major. Plus her voice is…unique.
Their fans are the most disgusting type of fans you can imagine, and I say this as someone who has been following the girls since they were formed on the X Factor, I’ve been here since the beginning, but the fans on twitter are just disgusting.
As for Camila, everyone with a brain knew she was gonna leave first, there was nothing connecting her to the band anymore. The problem are the fans that can’t see reason
And honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with her decision: she fulfilled her contract, and chose not to renew it. It’s like when you dislike your job or your workmates and once you finish the contract you sign you have the chance to leave and try something new. it’s not that complicated.
Genuine question; how are their fans different from 1Ds or Biebers or Chris Browns fans? Also, I’m surprised this was a contract renewal situation. Labels usually tie these kid groups for years and multiple albums, they must have gone into that first negotiation with a team of lawyers.
@Ramona
My little cousin is like a super fan of these girls and she says there is a real ugly sexist and racist streak among some of their fans. There may not be that many, but the ugly ones are apparently very loud on social media. Also, if one of the girls does something the fans disapprove of they turn on them in an incredibly ugly way before moving on in the next week or so……
Most ‘stans’ are kind of insane, but I do not think the Bieber fans tear him down (and the 5H fans add in sexism and racism) if he doesn’t behave exactly how they wish most of the time. It’s a sort of insanity where the fans feel like they own the celebrities because of the rise of social media, etc….
@Ramona : there is a very cruel/ racist streak (?) in the fanbase- and since the beginning they’ve pitting the girls against each other; or “shipping” them together -like the delusional 1D fans- , and these girls did not know how to deal with it. For what I’ve seen Camila was close to Lauren, the fans created the “Camrem” ship, Lauren got mad/defensive and they ended up growing apart.
As for the contract situation, Billboard reported that Camila’s contract ended on December 18th, exactly four years after it was signed (Dec 18th, 2012) – Apparently, the other four girls renewed their contract last year or at the beginning of this year, and Camila hasn’t. So it couldn’t be that much of a surprise
Ok, those fans do sound scary. And I agree that if she had not yet renewed her contract then there was definitely a countdown clock going and nobody should claim to have been blindsided. I do suspect that the statements from 4H are fully directed by the management. They paint the person leaving as a backstabber and hope they retain enough control over the remaining girls to squeeze out a few more albums.
I’ve been sort-of following them since X-Factor (from afar, listening to their music) and yeah, I could tell right away that Camila was going to leave as soon as she could. She outshined the other girls by a mile, it was only a matter of time.
However I’m not sure she’ll do so well outside of the group. I don’t think either will be successful after this…
Michael Whicker (freelance music journalist) posted on his blog today the following. ‘variety.com to report this afternoon that syco records (Simon), and epic (l.a. Reid) currently in talks with Selena Gomez, management, and interscope records for Selena to replace Camilla as the 5th harmonizer.’ Ugggggh!!
Don’t follow 5H because I think they have pretty awful voices, albeit catchy tunes, but I think this girl’s voice is the worst. Her solo stuff is horrendous.
Too bad she left the group. 4th Harmony just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
But was she the 1st harmony or was she the 5th.
Ok, I’m poking fun because I couldn’t care less about this group.
Am glad she left because the fan bullied her and Normani. Now is Normani turn to leave too.
Who are these people? I must be getting old. 🙄
I dont know her. Is she the most vocally talented one? Zayn at least had that going for him.
From what I’ve heard no. She seems to want the fame game the most though, so I guess she has that going for her *shrugs*
Nope, she’s probably the worst singer of the group. But she’s friends with Taylor swift. That’s got her a lot of fans.
Everytime they win an award I go listen to the song to see if I’ll enjoy this new catchy pop tune and it’s always awful. That worth it song is especially bad. All of the drama seems typical of groups. You can’t force chemistry, friendship, or shared goals.
I was surprised to learn these people even existed.
Me too. I’d actually like to go back to that time when I’d never heard of them. I was better off back then.
I remember them fondly. The halcyon days of fifteen minutes ago.
Go Go Gadget Time Machine! 🙂
The only thing that surprises me is that this group stayed together for as long as they did. It seems like they always hated each other or there was always drama in the group. They were five solo acts shoved together who didn’t have the chemistry needed to convincingly sell their brand as a pop group.
See what happens when you force things on people.
Wasn’t 1Direction put together in that same fashion? Now instead of 1Direction they went in like 5 different directions.
Haha yes they did splinter off into different directions. I think One Direction did start off as solo acts who were forced together but they at least had a team that built their brand and they seem to be one of the few pop acts where its individual members actually made money. When 4th Harmony officially break up I doubt any of their members will be well off like One Direction.
I can’t believe that X Factor was 5 years ago. 5 years! Where does time fly?!
I don’t care much for this band or care at all actually so I’m whatever about it BUT if we all knew she was going solo the moment she could, there’s no way her band members didn’t know. This is just them trying to paint her in a negative light because she left. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
Eh, I see their point. Sing songing that you’re leaving a job and then getting say the mailman to drop your work laptop and tell people you won’t be coming back isn’t the same as you definetely giving your team members a time for your departure.
They never denied knowing she had solo aspirations but that also doesn’t negate the fact that getting your “reps” to tell your band mates that your last show was Monday on Monday is a crap thing to do.
Isn’t that what happened with Destiny Child’s? The two girls quit the group without letting Beyoncé and Kelly know. I think that’s what happened. IDK. I’ll just wait for the TV movie.
I heard Beyoncé’s dad definitely forced one of them out, if not both. (For what idk)
Nah those two were forced out by Bey’s dad. And right after their album came out so their music videos at that time were so odd (ie Say My Name). Not remotely the same.
I think it’s important to note that Billboard reported that Camila’s contract ended on December 18th, exactly four years after it was signed (Dec 18th, 2012) – Apparently, the other four girls renewed their contract last year or at the beginning of this year, and Camila hasn’t. So it couldn’t be that much of a surprise, even if the team tried to convince her to stay in band.
The truth here is that she left the moment she legally and contractually could, so at least she fulfilled her part
Who is Fifth Harmony??
A younger version of The Pussy Cat Dolls
That last solo pic is Lauren not Camila. I hate that I know that 😀
I was so offended by the awfulness of that Michelle Obama song ( don’t ask me/tell me the name I really cant find the F*ck to give) after that I decided to not bother listening any further , what I do see /seem to know em for is this Camilla chick and Normani going back and forth in the shady way that Kim lets Jonathan Cheban handle her lightweight aided by the fact that their fandom seems to be utterly nuts and gross and racist
That black dress pic all 5 are in is the first time I’ve seen them not look like complete hot messes while doing the matchy-matchy thing, so congrats to them.
As for Camila going solo, idk anyone who’s checking for her like that. She better have some absolute bangers when she debuts, because I just don’t see her breaking out in the saturated pop starlet market.
Good riddance. That leak of Camilla’s social media accounts from last spring and summer revealed a lot about her. Calling her WOC co-workers the n-word and other derogatory words was disgusting. I’m sure it was a toxic environment for everyone to have to work in.
She voluntarily left the band. Through a message from her representatives on Monday that Monday was her final show. Once she was done, the remaining members and their team are not obligated to run things by her anymore.
She’s been over the band for years now and resented that she was put in a group (based on her social media leaks). I’d bet dollars to donuts that she’s most upset that they beat her to the punch with their release and stole her and her team’s planned PR roll out. Once the group released their PR statement, Camilla lost the ability to control the PR narrative of her leaving the group.
Yeah, I saw the one where she dismisses her bandmates as jealous and calls them the n word over Simon having her take the lead on a song. If those messages weren’t doctored/faked (that does happen all the time, but the Blake Shelton racist and sexist tweets turned out to be real, so these could be real too) then I say good riddance, and hopefully her career flops.
They’re all mean girls just watch their YouTube interviews. They constantly attack each other. I dont know why but Dinah is crazy fake and super mean. I’d quit too, but there is definitely not one sweet girl in that bunch. LA reid was flufding up her ego and she did WHATEVER it takes for a solo career.
If her contract was up she has a right to leave. I am sure the truth is somewhere in between. She probably told them she wanted to leave but they probably thought she’d never actually go through with it.
Camila has always been a b-tch who wanted all the attention on her; i could tell from their first performance back on x-factor. her heart was never in it. but i predict with her gone, 5th just won’t be as successful. Camila has a huuuuuuge fan base, and she appeals to both American and Latin markets. She’ll be fine, but the other girls won’t.
I’ve been a 5h fan since Xfactor. Like hard core spend embarrassing amounts of hrs of my day dedicated to them (no craziness, though just a fan of their music). I stopped cold turkey earlier this year when it became clear they weren’t going to produce the type of vocal albums I’d hoped for from them.
A certain side of their fandom saw this coming since late 2014. That was when she first met Taylor Swift and shortly after, minor mentions of her meeting with executives started popping up online.
Camila likes to feed her fans that bs about pursuing happiness and making “real music” and other whimsical bs. Judging by the solo music she’s put out, that’s all lies as well. It seems to be that she wanted 100% of the spotlight and not the 75% she got while she was in the group.
We all knew she was going to go eventually, but her behavior/attitude towards the group these past two years has made people happy to see her go. She complained about the music they were making, but she was singing 85% of the songs they put out while the other four girls had to fight for a line here or there, but never had a negative word to say about it.
There’s so much out there about her horrible behavior even dating back to their Xfactor days (i.e. the racism). If anyone cares enough to delve into the Harmonizer files on twitter, there are plenty of receipts about what kind of person Camila has become (or maybe always was).
Also for anyone claiming to not be familiar with Fifth Harmony, I suggest you check out their cover of Silent Night (’tis the season and all). That’ll give you an idea of what kind of talent we’re dealing with here.
JFC, it’s not like these girls are “The Supremes”.
Good riddance to the girl. I feel sorry that the other band members had to deal with her knowing how vapid and racist she was….
http://exposing-5h.tumblr.com/post/143006653354/camila-cabellos-allegedly-leaked-messages
She definitely wrote those texts and messages. The evidence supporting it is too much to deny.
Meh. It’s all about Little Mix for me. At least they have chemistry and don’t appear to hate each other.