Raye Opens Up On Being Criticised For Her Appearance By Cruel Trolls

3 April 2024, 15:32

BRIT-Award record breaker Raye has opened up about going to therapy for comments about her appearance.

Raye is the unstoppable star whose name should already be on your radar after she won six BRIT Awards in February, after releasing her debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues’ independently last year following a long-term battle with her former record label.

In a new interview with Elle magazine, Raye has opened up on the experiences which have shaped her and inspired her music, saying she was ‘putting out music she hated’ when she worked as a featured vocalist. Simultaneously, she was begging her record label to free her from her contract.

She recalled: “[I was] working stupidly hard, dealing with a whole lot of trauma and making a lot of bad decisions – add substance abuse on top of that... It was a messy time.”

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In ‘My 21st Century Blues’ Raye sings openly about her experience with addiction, body dysmorphia, sexual assault and depression.

And since having landed in the spotlight off the back of her debut album’s success, the extra exposure means she’s faced cruel comments online.

She opened up: “Being a woman in this thing, you’re critiqued on your appearance alone, and it’s s***. People talk about my weight, people have been saying I don’t look like a woman; really nasty comments that go round and round in your head.

“I’m not the most confident in my appearance, it’s something I still struggle with.” she added.

Raye recalled a session with her therapist in which she was asked: “When do you feel like the voices in your head are being most evil to you?” And Raye responded: “When I’m on social media.”

The following day she handed her passwords for her social media to a friend who now runs her account. When she needs to post, she’s given her socials-dedicated phone for a five minute window.

And after her big BRITs win, Raye said she booked a month off to focus on self care.

“I don’t want to go into this next chapter feeling insecure. I feel lonely. I don’t mean that in the sense of wanting a partner or wanting to be in love. It’s not that.

“I need to do some therapy, get some practices in place to let the negatives fall away and soak up all the positive things that life is offering me right now.”

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