'So Much Abuse': Former Fifth Harmony Member Ally Brooke Says Time In Girl Group Was 'Traumatizing' — Watch
Former Fifth Harmony member Ally Brooke is opening up about her "traumatizing" experience in the girl group and how she "didn't love it."
"It was a whirlwind. I'm going to say how proud I am of Fifth Harmony, of what we did, of what we did for music, what we did for female empowerment, what we did for girl groups," the 27-year-old said on the first episode of her podcast "The Ally Brooke Show." "We will be in the history books, y'all."
"It was hard because there was so much going on. So much behind the scenes, so much toxicity, so much abuse, so much abuse of power, so much mental abuse, verbal abuse, and it's just horrible and to me, it's a shame because we were so big. I should have enjoyed myself more," she explained.
Brooke alleged that some people at their former record label made the women feel "uncomfortable" and "inferior." In one instance she came to an executive for help when the group was "breaking" and alleged that he sexually harassed her instead.
"I show up to meet with him and he gives me a freaking thong," she recalled. "I know what he was trying to do. I was humiliated. I was going there super vulnerable [asking for help]... At the time, that behavior was accepted."
Brooke also said that the members had to "fight for [their] lives" to sing important parts of their songs and was categorized as the "big one." "Later on, it did get better and in some moments, there were moments for me to shine and feel like I could contribute but that was really, really hard. That takes a toll on your confidence," she admitted.
Now she finds it hard to reminisce on the good times with the group as the negatives overshadow the good. "There's a weird balance of being grateful and being okay with the fact that things were not okay for me," she said.
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Brooke said, "I'll look at a music video and all I'll remember is how I felt that day. How I felt super insecure, or how I felt let down or how I felt like I wasn't good enough. People around me told me that I wasn't good enough, I wasn't cool enough, I wasn't valued, nobody cared about me. It was awful but I also try to remember the good times."
Fans took to the comments to support the singer.
"im so proud of her and everything she’s accomplished so far in her journey. love her so much 😭," one fan gushed.
"That shows us once again that what we see in those music videos or on these award shows, isn‘t always what it really is, we can all pretend to be okay and especially when you‘re in the social media/music industry," another said.
"I absolutely adore 5H , and will say I was and still am a hardcore fan. It’s heartbreaking to hear the experience Ally, and the girls! Everything that was inappropriate shouldn’t have happened, but your fans love and appreciate the legacy you left for us," a third fan wrote.
Fifth Harmony was put together on The X-Factor in 2012 and was made up of Brooke, Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Normani and Dinah Jane. Cabello left the group in 2016 to pursue a solo career and they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2018.
