Camila Cabello had a quick rise to fame when America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell formed the group Fifth Harmony in 2012. She then continued to thrive as a solo artist, but her past is not squeaky clean.
The Havana singer’s past social media behavior was exposed in a long thread on Twitter in December 2019, detailing Camila’s “racist and downright disturbing Tumblr reblogs”. In the posts, Camila repeatedly used racially charged language and laughed at racial stereotypes.
In 2016, a hacker leaked messages between Camila and her friend exposing shocking comments about her former bandmates, Normani, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane.
The singer has apologized on several occasions, but nonetheless, the damage was done for some of her fans.
Camila’s controversy dates back years. Here are some of the highlights:
15 The Singer Repeatedly Used The N-Word On Twitter
A year after Camila was put in Fifth Harmony, people uncovered her One Direction stan account on Twitter with the username @ratchetandsassy. In the tweet from May 2012, she referred to Barack Obama as the N-Word. Similarly, in July 2012 she referred to George Washington as the N-Word. Both were written as a term of endearment.
In June 2013, Camila apologized for the remarks on her verified Twitter account. She told fans, “I was immature and young and joking (not an excuse) but I apologize.”
14 Camila Reblogged Several Posts On Tumblr Depicting Racial Stereotypes
Camila’s past Tumblr reblogs, largely from 2012 and 2013 when she was 15 years old, were exposed in December 2019 by the Twitter account @motivatefenty. One of the posts she shared was a fake search result saying Asian people speak “the ching chong language.” Several other posts showed Black people fighting over fried chicken. Camila eventually issued an apology for her “uneducated and ignorant” social media behavior.
13 She Stole A Pencil From Buckingham Palace
The Havana singer appeared on the BBC Radio 1 show Breakfast with Greg James in November 2019 and confessed to stealing a pencil from Buckingham Palace. The pop star revealed Greg had “triple doggie dared” her to take the writing instrument. “I put it in my mom’s purse,” she admitted. “I still have it. I’m sorry William and I’m sorry Kate.” The Kensington Royal Twitter account took notice and replied with eyeball emojis.
12 She Was Eliminated From The X Factor As A Solo Artist
Camila has a booming solo career now, but that certainly hasn’t always been the case. She competed on The X Factor USA Season 2 as a solo artist at first. She was axed during the bootcamp rounds in Miami, Florida. The Never Be The Same singer was later invited back to compete in the manufactured girl group Fifth Harmony.
11 Her Fans Made Racially Charged Comments At Former Bandmate Normani & She Didn’t Have An Immediate Response
Normani was asked in a Facebook Live interview with Galore in August 2016 to describe her bandmates with one word. The Motivation singer seemingly struggled to come up with a word for Camila. Camila’s fans were quick to hurl racial insults at Normani.
The Love Lies singer announced on August 1, 2016, that she was taking a break from Twitter after she was “racially cyberbullied with tweets and pictures so horrific and racially charged.” Finally, on August 5, 2016, Camila tweeted, “I stand by the words ‘love only,’ meaning I won't tolerate on my timeline any kind of hate, racism, or discrimination towards ANYONE.”
10 Camila Laughed After Her Friend Referred To Normani As The N-Word In Leaked Messages
Camila’s phone was hacked in 2016 and several of her messages with her friends were leaked. In one exchange her friend joked that she couldn’t believe Camila got paid to sing. The former Fifth Harmony star responded, “BC I WORK MY BUTT OFF AND CRY AND GET BULLIED BY FOUR [N-Word] THAT’S WHY.” Camila’s friend replied, “BUT NORMANI IS ACTUALLY A [N-Word].” The singer just laughed in all caps at the comment.
9 The Former Fifth Harmony Singer Made Fun Of Ally Brooke For Using The Phrase ‘Y’all’
Ally was born and raised in Texas. So naturally, she throws in the word “y’all” wherever she can. Camila, however, was not a fan. Camila’s friend messaged her to stop using the word “y’all” On Fifth Harmony’s social media. “I DON’T U STUPID. THAT’S ALLY,” Camila responded. “SHE SAYS IT EVERY 2 SECONDS IT’S HER VOCABULARY.”
8 Camila Also Said She Wanted To Punch Ally In The Face
In the same hacked messages from 2016, Camila continued to make fun of the way Ally spoke. She went as far as to say her bandmate's speech made her want to hit her. “IDK EVERY TIME ALLY [SPEAKS] IT TAKES EVERYTHING IN ME NOT TO PUNCH HER IN THE FACE,” Camila wrote.
7 She Allegedly Planned Her Debut Single With Shawn Mendes Behind Fifth Harmony’s Back
Camila was the first member of Fifth Harmony to have a breakout solo. She collaborated with her now-boyfriend, Shawn, for the song I Know What You Did Last Summer. The two began to write the song after they hung out backstage at a Taylor Swift concert with Ally in 2015.
Although Camila has long claimed the jam session was random, leaked texts suggested she wanted to collaborate with him for a long time.
6 Fifth Harmony Claims She Told Them She Was Quitting Through Her Representatives
Fifth Harmony shocked fans on December 19, 2016, when Ally, Normani, Dinah and Lauren announced Camila quit in a statement. “After four and a half years of being together, we have been informed via her representatives that Camila has decided to leave Fifth Harmony. We wish her well,” the statement said.
Camila refuted the statement and said, “Saying that they were just informed through my representatives that I was 'leaving the group' is just not true.” The girl group later doubled down and insisted Camila denied all requests to have a conversation.
5 She Reblogged A Post On Tumblr Making Fun Of Chris Brown Hitting Rihanna
Rihanna and Chris Brown had several domestic disputes that lead to violence during their relationship. Photos leaked of Rihanna’s severely beaten face after the couple canceled their appearance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Camila reblogged a post that said, “Rihanna’s IQ is 117 can you beat her?” Underneath the post was a photo of Chris with the caption, “Already did.”
4 Camila Insulted Some Of Fifth Harmony’s Singing Abilities
In the messages to her friend from the 2016 hack, Camila wrote, “IF WE HAD EQUAL PARTS THE SONG WOULD NOT BE AS GOOD AND WE HAVE TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE SONG. LIKE WE MIGHT ALL HAVE EQUAL PARTS AND SOUND LIKE CRAP. BUT IF ONLY 2 OF US HAVE LEADS IT MIGHT SOUND AWESOME.”
3 She Said Things Aren’t Funny Without Swear Words
Camila initially refrained from using curse words on social media because of her young fanbase. She later told the Los Angeles Times in November 2019 that she started to swear on Instagram because “some stuff just isn’t funny without a swear word.” She added, “I swear in real life like a sailor, and I was starting to feel like I was censoring myself."
2 Criticized Fifth Harmony For Having A Sexualized Image
In January 2017, a few days before Fifth Harmony gave a statement that Camila quit the group, she told Lenny Letter that she wasn’t a fan of the group’s image and singing songs with “a lot of sexual undertones” as a marketing ploy. She added, “Unfortunately, sex sells.” The singer has seemingly changed her mind with heated songs like My Oh My and Señorita.
1 She Referred To Her Relationship To Shawn As "Exhausting"
Relationships are hard work! The pair have been going strong since summer 2019, but it hasn't all been smooth sailing. In an interview with CapitalFM in March 2020, she admitted that “being in love is exhausting, it takes it out of you.” Camila also noted that both of them are young and figuring themselves out at the same time.
Sources: BBC, LA Times, Galore, Cosmopolitan, Exposing Mag