'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
English singer-songwriter Matty Healy, who is the frontman of the indie pop band The 1975, recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to take a dig at American singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus and her indie supergroup called Boygenius. In a now-deleted post, Matty Healy wrote:
“I told Lucy Dacus that ‘Boygenius’ had inspired me and George to start a new band called ‘Girlretard.’ I don’t really hear from her that often.”
While it remains unclear as to what prompted Matty Healy to make such a post, Lucy Dacus was quick to respond.
“You don’t hear from me at all,” she tweeted.
Since then, Matty Healy’s X account with the handle @mattyfrnglomg has been deactivated, which prompted fans of Lucy Dacus to call out Healy for being cowardly while at the same time praising her for taking him down appropriately.
“Was not something I was expecting”: Netizens slam Matty Healy for his Boygenius joke
On Thursday, September 21, English indie pop singer Matty Healy made a joke on the social media platform X, saying that his American equivalent, Lucy Dacus, and her supergroup Boygenius (which she founded with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers) encouraged him and his bandmate George Daniel to form a new band called “Girlretard.” He also added how he rarely heard from Dacus.
While he may have intended humor, which is why he suggested that the exact opposite of Boygenius should be Girlretard and how he wanted to make a band out of it, Lucy Dacus did not seem to appreciate the joke. In fact, she took him down in a single tweet by replying how, in reality, he never heard from her.
In a follow-up tweet, Lucy invoked her supergroup trio, while Matty wrote what seems to be his final message on X before deactivating the account.
“Yeah this never goes well does it,” he tweeted.
As soon as the brief feud became viral, netizens and fans of Dacus took the opportunity to gush over the singer’s savage response while pulling Healy down. Here are some of the reactions:
This is not the first time Healy has found himself amidst controversy for posting allegedly ignorant, ableist, s*xist, misguided, or insensitive comments on social media in the name of humor.
For instance, in June 2023, Matty was publicly criticized by British singer-actress Rina Sawayama for making racist remarks on the podcast The Adam Friedland Show. On the podcast, he called Afro-Latina rapper Ice Spice an “Innuit Spice Girl” and “a chubby Chinese lady” while also mimicking her accent, reported Uproxx.
He also came under fire when he gave unconsented on-stage kisses to straight men while protesting against anti-LGBTQ+ laws during the Malaysian Music Festival earlier this year.
As per Out, in 2020, Matty Healy deactivated his Twitter account after posting a promotional message for one of his band’s songs and simultaneously issuing support for Black Lives Matter.
For those uninitiated, Healy crossed paths with Dacus in 2022 when they shared the stage during Jack Antonoff’s Ally Coalition benefit concert. However, he has collaborated with her Boygenius bandmate Phoebe Bridgers on more than one occasion.
