Still disgusted by how cruelly critics like Pitchfork and Anthony Fantano treated Halsey while she was literally battling for her life

I’ve been thinking about The Great Impersonator era, and I honestly still can't believe how vile the media and internet critics were to Halsey.

She was vulnerable enough to completely strip away the glossy pop-star veneer and expose the most terrifying, fragile moment of her life.

She was dealing with systemic lupus (SLE) and a T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder, undergoing oncology chemotherapy, and literally performing with a medical port implanted in her chest.

She shared videos where she couldn't even stand up.

And what did she get for being completely honest about her body betraying her? Brutal, personal backlash.

Publications like Pitchfork slapped her with a 4.8 rating and accused her of "adopting a martyr’s pose" to "conjure a sense of victimhood."

Then you had Anthony Fantano (TheNeedleDrop) giving the album a 1/10 and mocking her for having "main character syndrome."

It just shows how incredibly nasty and cold people are. It feels like because she wasn't being glamorous, jumping around on stage in a bikini, and appealing to the male gaze or standard pop expectations, she was penalized for it. The second a female artist gets real about chronic illness, pain, and facing her own mortality, she's dismissed as being "dramatic" or "attention-seeking." Whats crazy too is her performances and promo were actually amazing too, like her VMA performance of Ego was actually AMAZING BTW!!!

It’s just deeply messed up. She poured her heart and soul into an album thinking it might be her last, and the lack of empathy from these major critics is just appalling. I'm so glad her fans rallied around her, because the industry completely failed her when she was at her most vulnerable.

I also think it's absolutely wild that she never received a genuine apology from any of these people—especially Fantano, who just doubled down on his nastiness afterwards. At the end of the day, The Great Impersonator is a brilliant, stunning piece of work. Honestly, she never misses with her albums; her entire discography is unskippable. At the moment, I have her album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power on absolute repeat. Looking back at that masterpiece and comparing it to what she went through next just makes me respect her so much more as an artist. She poured her heart and soul into her music while fighting for her life, and the total lack of empathy from these major critics is just appalling. I'm so glad her fans rallied around her, because the industry completely failed her when she was at her most vulnerable.

We love you Halsey 💕💕💕