As hard as it is for her to admit, Ally Brooke f**king hated being in Fifth Harmony. And after hearing her dish about the “toxicity” that plagued her environment while being involved in one of the world’s largest girl groups, it’s not hard to understand why.
The singer opened up about her complicated past in the band during her brand new podcast The Ally Brooke Show on Wednesday. She even revealed that she dealt with “mental and verbal abuse” as a member of Fifth Harmony. Ally expressed:
“It was a whirlwind. I’m going to say how proud I am of Fifth Harmony, of what we did, of what we did for music, what we did for female empowerment, what we did for girl groups. We will be in the history books, y’all.”
Related: Fifth Harmony Singer Ally Brooke Reveals She’s Still A Virgin At 27!
But thinking back on her time with Normani, Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, and Dinah Jane, all the original members of the X-Factor band, Brooke continued:
“But I hate saying this: My time in Fifth Harmony, I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t love it. It was hard because there was so much going on. So much behind the scenes, so much toxicity, so much abuse, so much abuse of power, so much mental abuse, verbal abuse, and it’s just horrible and to me, it’s a shame because we were so big. I should have enjoyed myself more.”
One particularly shocking reveal came when Ally said a label head tried to “take advantage” of her when she came to him for help as the band was “breaking” up (which occurred in 2018, two years after Shawn Mendes‘ lady ditched the musical act for her own projects). The Texas native shared:
“I show up to meet with him and he gives me a freaking thong. I know what he was trying to do. I was humiliated. I was going there super vulnerable [asking for help]… At the time, that behavior was accepted.”
So not okay! The 27-year-old also admitted that she struggled with the band’s indefinite hiatus because she was always the “glue” of the group, noting:
“I was that mom. I tried to keep us together as a unit. It was very, very hard. It was a tough experience.”
Sadly, most of her time with the Work from Home ladies was “traumatizing,” especially when it came to comparisons and body image:
“I’ll look at a music video and all I’ll remember is how I felt that day. How I felt super insecure, or how I felt let down or how I felt like I wasn’t good enough. People around me told me that I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t cool enough, I wasn’t valued, nobody cared about me. It was awful but I also try to remember the good times.”
Being constantly referred to as the “big one” among the band definitely didn’t help her self-esteem either. Harking back on comments expressed in her new memoir, Ally furthered:
“People said I was the fat one and all these things and especially in one moment when we were shooting a music video we were in bathing suits and I didn’t feel at my best. And then there were paparazzi pictures that came out and people made fun of me so much and it was horrible.”
But even the good times were laced with a “fight for our lives,” as the performers were pitted against each other, forced to be “competitive” over every opportunity — such as who sang what lines in a song. While she admitted later in their career “it did get better,” Brooke was often left “crushed” and “embarrassed” when she wasn’t selected for good singing parts. Wow…
Related: Lauren Says Incessant Rumors About Her Dating Bandmate Camila Were ‘Traumatizing’
This all sounds incredibly “traumatizing”!! It’s no wonder these girls were so ready to break off into their own solo careers! You can listen to the full podcast (below) to hear even more about Ally’s time in 5H!
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Which of Ally’s admissions is most shocking to you? Let us know in the comments (below)!
[Image via Ally Brooke/YouTube/Instagram & Apega/WENN]
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