Ice Spice breaks silence on Matty Healy’s controversial podcast comments about her

The Munch hitmaker also revealed what happened when they met at a party and Healy tried to apologise
US rapper Ice Spice has finally revealed her thoughts on Matty Healy’s comments that caused a huge backlash
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Tina Campbell29 September 2023
The Weekender

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US rapper Ice Spice has finally revealed her thoughts on Matty Healy’s comments about her that caused a huge backlash.

Back in February, The 1975 frontman appeared as a guest on Adam Friedland’s podcast and mentioned Ice Spice, 23, whom he claimed he tried to message on Instagram.

In the episode, which has since been pulled from both Apple and Spotify, Healy, 34, Friedland and comedian Nick Mullen then appeared to confuse her heritage by referring to her as Inuit and Chinese, imitating and mocking the accents of each.

Mullen called the Princess Diana rapper an “Inuit Spice Girl” and a “chubby Chinese lady”.

Ice Spice – real name Isis Naija Gaston – didn’t comment at the time, but has now had her say in a new interview with Variety, and admitted she was “so confused” when she heard Healy on the podcast.

Ice Spice admitted she was ‘confused’ by the podcast
AFP via Getty Images

“When I had heard that little podcast or whatever, I was so confused. Because I heard ‘chubby Chinese lady’ or some shit like that, and I’m like, ‘Huh? What does that even mean?’” she told the publication.

“First of all, I’m thick. What do you mean Chinese? What? But then they apologised or whatever.”

Healy issued a sort-of apology months after the podcast aired in April during a 1975 concert in New Zealand.

The musician, who is the son of presenter Denise Welch, told the audience that he doesn’t like being famous and that he “makes a joke out of everything” and “can take it too far sometimes in front of too many people”.

“Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a d***. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry,” he said.

Speaking to Variety months later, Ice Spice recalled: “And the whole time, I didn’t really care.

“But that’s funny because I saw him at the Jean Paul Gaultier party a couple days ago, and he was like, ‘Hey, you OK?’ and I’m like, ‘Of course.’ He apologised to me a bunch of times. We’re good.”

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