The Truth About Little Mix's History Of Feuds
Little Mix had everyone talking in May 2021 when they hit the headlines twice over for announcing double baby news with Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock confirming they were both expecting at the same time.
Pinnock was first to announce her pregnancy, revealing on Instagram on May 4 that she and her fiancé, soccer player Andre Gray, had "dreamed about this moment for so long and [they] can't believe the dream is finally coming true." She added, "can't wait to meet you." Pinnock shared the heartfelt caption alongside two solo photos of herself showing off her bare bump, alongside another that showed a shirtless Grey with his hands on her growing middle.
The next exciting announcement came on May 10 when Edwards took to Instagram to reveal her own baby joy with her boyfriend, soccer player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. She shared two black and white photos — one a close up of her bump with their hands on it and another showing the two smiling — and wrote in the caption, "So happy to be on this wild journey with my soulmate."
But while there's undoubtedly good news that has the ladies in the headlines, it's not always been that way for the British girl band. Read on to find out about their history of feuds and a little sassy shade.
There was rumored to be tension before Jesy Nelson left Little Mix
Little Mix were hit with rumors of a feud within the band before Jesy Nelson left in December 2020. In 2017, fans speculated there could have been drama after Perrie Edwards took to Instagram to share a photo of herself, Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Nelson on the red carpet at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, only less than half of Nelson could be seen on the end of the snap.
In the caption, Edwards wrote, "Jesy is cropped out the picture because she doesn't like any of the photos!" But that didn't stop rumors of tension or a potential feud spreading like wildfire across social media, particularly after Capital FM pointed out that Nelson shared seven photos of herself at the same event on her own Instagram (which have since been deleted).
Nelson and Edwards addressed the situation via Instagram Stories with a video of them in bed together. "So we just want to address the situation of the friendship between me and Perrie. Do you think I'd be laying in her bed if I wasn't friends with her?" Nelson asked (per Capital FM).
Edwards and Thirwall also shut down the feud allegations in November 2019. "We've always had rumours the last few years. But that comes with being in a girl band. People assume girls don't get along with girls," Edwards told The Mirror, before Thirlwall added, "We literally never fight. We're really boring."
Little Mix reportedly had beef with Simon Cowell
If reports are to be believed, Little Mix don't exactly get along with music mogul Simon Cowell anymore. Per The Sun, the band released their first four albums under his label, Syco, after forming on "The X Factor" — Cowell's talent search on which he also served on the judging panel — in 2011, though their friendly professional relationship broke down. Little Mix reportedly "directly confronted Cowell in a strongly worded email, raising issues they had with his label," before leaving his roster.
Speaking to The Guardian, Jade Thirlwall explained that tensions arose after they recorded the song "Woman Like Me," which was co-written by Ed Sheeran. She claimed they "went in, tweaked the lyrics, changed the production, and got Nicki [Minaj] on it" before denying Cowell's initial claims they didn't want to record it. They're thought to have fallen out after the girl group didn't get the credit they felt they deserved for their tweaks.
Cowell had called the drama "embarrassing" while speaking to The Sun and said he was "annoyed" that his staff had been "misrepresented." He added, "Why do artists think they're more important than staff members? They're not. They're the same." However, he also downplayed reports of serious tension on his part, telling the outlet, "I stand by the fact they are the hardest working bunch of girls I've ever worked with. They deserve everything they've got."
Little Mix were dragged into Nicki Minaj and Cardi B's drama, and seemingly took sides
Drama with Simon Cowell wasn't the only tension "Woman Like Me" caused, as Little Mix found themselves in the middle of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B's drama in October 2018. They stepped in to support Minaj in the feud after Cardi claimed she was offered the chance to feature on the song first. "That 'Woman Like Me' record? Yeah, I had to decline it because I'm doing a lot of pop records, so I can't, you know, overexaggerate myself," Cardi told Minaj in a since deleted Instagram video (per Huffington Post).
Little Mix shut down Cardi's claim pretty publicly and appeared to throw a little shade at the rapper at the same time (despite denying it in the message). The band shared a snap to their joint Instagram account that read, "Sorry Cardi hun but this is the t, we've always wanted the queen. No shade." They also included screenshots from a group WhatsApp message to back up their claim which showed the date they asked to have Minaj collaborate with them.
Cardi B may not be the biggest Little Mix fan after that one...
Little Mix threw serious shade at Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid
Little Mix's tension with Zayn Malik has been well-documented over the years, ever since the former One Direction singer and Perrie Edwards called off their engagement in August 2015. The girls have been accused of throwing shade at Edwards' ex in multiple occasions, most famously in their song, "Shout Out To My Ex."
PopSugar broke down all the shady lines that appeared to reference the "Pillowtalk" singer, as well as his romance with model Gigi Hadid – who he started dating mere months after splitting with Edwards. One particularly telling lyric reads, "I hope she gettin' better sex/Hope she ain't fakin' it like I did, babe/Took four long years to call it quits/Forget that boy, I'm over it," as Edwards and Malik notably dated for four years.
Fans have also compiled YouTube videos of several appearances and interviews in which Edwards and her bandmates appeared to slam the singer, including one that showed the Thirlwall changing out the lyric in the song "faking it like I did" to "faking it like Hadid," which appeared to be a dig at the model.
In an excerpt of the band's 2016 autobiography, "One World," obtained by People, Edwards didn't name Malik by name but strongly hinted that he called off their engagement by via text. "It was horrible, the worst time in my life. A four-year relationship, two-year engagement ended by a simple text message. Just like that," she wrote.
Little Mix had choice words for Piers Morgan
Little Mix have had some choice words for outspoken Piers Morgan over the years. A feud between the TV personality and the girl band arose in 2018 when Morgan slammed the ladies for stripping down for their "Strip" music video. It shows the girls posing nude with negative words painted on their bodies, which related to the song's subject of body confidence and female empowerment (per Heart).
Morgan hit out at the girls on "Good Morning Britain," saying, "If men stripped off like that we'd be arrested but women do it and it's 'empowering.' They're stripping off to sell albums, that's what it's about. The rest of it is baloney. They don't have any flaws, they've been airbrushed to look perfect. They're fake. There's not a mark on them. You can't even see the surgery."
Per Chronicle Live, Little Mix used Morgan's comments during their concerts in 2019 by showing a video of his remarks before launching into their song "Wasabi." The song encouragers haters to say things to their face. Morgan hit back on Twitter, "Fabulous! No surprise that @LittleMix are using me to make their tour a success. Thanks ladies."
Little Mix responded from their joint Twitter account, "Someone's telling porkie pieeees your bosses at GMB signed it off, including you...soz hun[.] Piers you gorgey hun, we know you've always been our number 1 fan we've got a ticket at the box office with your name on it #comeandsayittomyface."