Halsey has been a loyal Tumblr user for well over a decade, as the social media platform was a key ingredient in helping fuel their rise in the 2010s while connecting with fans.
Tumblr celebrated its 19th anniversary on Friday (Feb. 27) and served up a heavy dose of nostalgia with a highlight reel featuring cameos from 2010s favorites like The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Lana Del Rey and One Direction, to name a few.
However, there was one notable omission, as Halsey was absent from the clip. “I keep your lights on for years and this is the thanks I get,” she quipped in response.
Halsey’s reply on Sunday swept social media and went viral to the tune of more than 300,000 likes on X. “They’re trying to erase you queen,” one person wrote in Halsey’s defense.
“And during the 10 year anniversary of badlands too, the disrespect is INSANE,” another fan added, while pointing to the 10th-anniversary tour Halsey wrapped up in February in support of their 2015 debut, Badlands.
Feeling the heat from the playful backlash, Tumblr released a statement apologizing for its mistake on Monday (March 2). “Halsey, we are deeply sorry you were not included in our 19th birthday edit. you are and have forever been a pillar of our platform and yes for lack of better words ‘keeping our lights on for years.’ we would never, as you once put it, intentionally swerve you,” Tumblr wrote.
The blogging network continued: “At just 19, we’re still learning and growing. we promise this will never happen again. we hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us. with love, tumblr.”
Fans are patiently awaiting Halsey to kick off their next era, with the singer’s last album, The Great Impersonator, arriving in October 2024. Halsey claimed their label was keeping them from releasing a new project during an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
“I can’t make an album right now — I’m not allowed to,” she said in September. “That’s the reality, because The Great Impersonator didn’t perform the way they thought it was going to.”
Find Halsey’s response and Tumblr’s apology below.
