Taylor Swift recently announced a new remix of her song Karma featuring rapper Ice Spice, which will be included in the deluxe version of her album, Midnights.
However, this release has led to controversy surrounding Matty Healy, the lead singer of The 1975, who previously made offensive remarks towards Ice Spice on a podcast in January 2023. During the podcast, titled The Adam Friedland Show, Healy mentioned that he had attempted to message Ice Spice on Instagram. The co-hosts then proceeded to mock her name and make racist comments about Chinese, Hawaiian, and Inuit people by using mocking accents.
One of the hosts referred to Ice Spice as “Inuit Spice Girl,” and asked, “Do they talk like that? Do Inuits talk like that?” While Healy did not actively participate in the racism, he did laugh along with the hosts. This incident occurred after Ice Spice had expressed her admiration for The 1975 and had not commented on the incident.
The podcast has since been removed from all podcast platforms, but it remains available on YouTube. In response to the backlash, Healy issued an apology to Ice Spice during The 1975’s tour.
“I just feel a bit bad, and I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you,” Healy told the audience in Auckland, New Zealand. “Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a dick. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry.”
