Why the Azealia Banks-Matty Healy feud may go to court
Azealia Banks is threatening to take her feud with Matty Healy to court.
The rapper demanded $1 million and a public apology from The 1975 band member in a cease-and-desist letter shared via X in a since-deleted post Sunday, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times report.
Banks' lawyer Wallace Collins confirmed to Paste BN Tuesday that the letter had been sent on Saturday and that his client stands behind the allegations made in the letter.
Paste BN has reached out to representatives for Healy.
Banks, who has become notorious for trading white-hot barbs online, turned her ire toward Healy last week when he chimed in during one of her signature rants.
When the rapper began criticizing "Brat" singer Charli XCX − who is engaged to Healy's bandmate George Daniel − the group's frontman stepped in and the spat quickly spun out. In dozens of now-deleted posts, the two traded insults in an increasingly tense exchange that culminated with Healy telling Banks that he would "slap you so hard I'll get a Guinness world record for the highest a rat some (expletive) calls a wig has ever flown.”
The threat of physical violence toppled the exchange into territory even Healy knew was too far. He reportedly apologized on X, though his account has since been deactivated, and in a post to the Reddit thread r/the1975, where Healy has interacted with fans in the past, the singer wrote, "What a bad day, I really let myself down. I have worked so hard to move past these impulsive self-destructive and honestly quite volatile outbursts I have. I'm constantly making trouble for myself for no reason."
"I just feel dreadful about how I acted violent - I think Azealia and all obvious flawed people all deep down have a heart and I hate that I have contributed to her mental fragility," Healy wrote.
Banks for her part has cited Healy's comments as causing major mental distress and even sending her to the hospital with shortness of breath.
The letter bars Healy "from making further threats or defamatory statements" against Banks and demands a "prompt public apology" as well as "compensation for damages in the amount of $1,000,000 in full settlement of this matter," the outlets report. It alleges Healy intentionally "shocked, distressed, and emotionally injured" her with "cyber harassment and cyberbullying."
The dispute with Healy is just one in a long-standing pattern for Banks who regularly unleashes tirades targeted at figures as varied as Elon Musk and Zayn Malik. The "212" rapper noted that this time was different, however, as it moved from insult to injury.
"The first amendment protects my rights to saying offensive (things). It does not protect anyone's right to threats of physical abuse. That is a crime. And I'm not going to keep having lil white artists think they can take pot shots because they think I'm afraid to retaliate and look like the violent black girl," Banks wrote on X in response to one user accusing her of aggression.
Healy also has a history of making incendiary comments. In 2023, he ignited fury among the Swifties and beyond when he made disparaging comments about rapper Ice Spice's body and ethnicity on a podcast and seemingly gave a Nazi salute at a concert.