Matty Healy of The 1975 threatened to slap rapper Azealia Banks during a heated argument on X last week, prompting her lawyer to send him a cease-and-desist letter.
Healy is accused of threatening violence against Banks and making defamatory remarks in the letter, which was dated Saturday. It requires Healy to stop threatening and disparaging Banks in the future. It also demands that he apologize publicly and reimburse her $1 million for her losses.
On Sunday, Banks posted a copy of the letter on X, but by Monday afternoon, it had been taken down along with a note stating that it was against the platform’s guidelines. Banks’ lawyer, Wallace Collins, acknowledged that he wrote a letter on his client’s behalf on Saturday.
In an email response, Collins stated that Banks “unquestionably stands by the factual allegations and legal claims as outlined in the December 7, 2024 letter.”
A request for comment was not immediately answered by Healy’s representatives. Prior to deactivating his account, he reportedly apologized on X for his remarks.
No, I can’t claim that I’m going to hit a crazy girl. According to Entertainment Weekly, which covered the message last week before Healy’s account was deactivated, he wrote, “I’m sorry.” You simply cannot continue to treat my friends and my wife in such a cruel manner; it is extremely upsetting and makes me defensive. (A copy of the X apology was not seen by NBC News before to its removal.)
Banks and Healy started teasing each other last week after Healy chastised her for her tweet that made comments about Charli XCX’s beauty. “The women you attack seem to be culturally relevant, attractive, divisive, and NICE people,” Healy told Banks. I believe this makes you envious because, despite your talent, you are a failure in every other way.
Then Healy said that if anyone attacked his fiancée, Gabbriette Bechtel, he would f— you up and hit them. According to Banks’ response to that post, Bechtel resembled Frankenstein, and she and Healy, who has been candid about her recovery from heroin addiction, appear to share needles. Then, in a since-deleted post, Healy called Banks a rat and threatened to hit her.
Banks had threatened to sue Healy for his comments in a string of posts on X last week.She claimed that she was experiencing extreme emotional distress that was driving her insane and that she was starting to experience physical side effects. She also claimed that she had a migraine, muscle strain, and shortness of breath, which is why she went to the hospital.
She wrote, “This stress just won’t let my body unwind or sleep.” As I sit here listening to folks babble on about how much black women should be respected, I’m too mature for people to still be threatening me online.
In a post on the r/The1975 subreddit, which he has also used in the past to communicate with fans online, Healy referred to his interaction with Banks as self-destructive.
Healy has experienced controversy before. He received backlash for making fun of rapper Ice Spice’s ethnicity last year, but the two musicians reconciled.
As an addict, I use social media as my new means of consuming and altering my emotions when I’m not using, and I frequently return to it after depressive episodes (which is NOT an excuse). I’m also always making issues for myself without cause. Healy used his online alias, TrumanBlackOG, to write from this account.
I simply feel terrible about my violent behavior. I believe that everyone, including Azealia, has a heart, even if they are obviously defective. I regret that I have contributed to her mental instability.
Collins said in the letter that Healy’s remarks and the removal of his X posts were insufficient.
The letter claims that even though you acknowledged that your response was incorrect and removed the damaging attack posts, the harm has not been undone.
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