Sharing a new story, published by The Independent, about misogyny in the music industry where she claims she has been "repeatedly gaslit, disrespected, ignored, even cyber-bullied for calling out blatant racist and sexist behaviour," Rina Sawayama has admitted that she feels like she "can't make another album under these conditions."
The pop star wrote a lengthy caption in an Instagram post about the piece, published in honour of International Women's Day (IWD). "It's the first time I've been honest about my past year (or to a level of safety I feel safe to)," Sawayama said of the interview she gave to Roisin O'Connor and Chloe Little. "Honestly my mental health has been awful, and though I was able to complete my 2023 commitments I can't say it's been the same this year."
"When it comes to new music I can’t release another album under my current conditions," she continued. "I feel really trapped and don’t know what to do."
The singer-songwriter is currently signed to Dirty Hit Records, which each member of the 1975 has been a shareholder in since 2019. Frontman Matty Healy — who Sawayama called out during her Glastonbury performance last year, dedicating her song "STFU!" to a "white man" with a controversial podcast appearance when the internet was all abuzz about his discussion of Ice Spice's ethnicity — also served as the label's creative director for four years up until stepping down from the role last April. "He also owns my masters," Sawayama said on stage at the festival. "I've had enough!"
"I’ve felt enlivened by the strength in this article, but I’ve also cried at how truly rotten the industry is," she wrote today. "This is just a FRACTION of what actually goes on. I've heard more stories like this, some worse, in private from other artists. There are men who have done horrible things to multiple women who have very secure jobs in high places. It’s truly terrifying."
Sawayama has previously opened up about how being groomed by a male teacher as a teenager informed much of her 2022 sophomore album, Hold the Girl. See her Instagram post below.