UPDATE: Tensions increase between Fifth Harmony and ex-band member Camila Cabello
Will Camila Cabello's (left) departure require Fifth Harmony to change their name?[UPDATE - Tuesday, December 20, 5.25pm]
Camila Cabello and Fifth Harmony have both released statements through Twitter in response to the news of Cabello’s surprise exit from the US RnB group.
Cabello posted on Twitter at 3am (HKT) today, saying “I was shocked to read the statement the Fifth Harmony account posted without my knowing,” and she continued on to refute the fact that the other members had been informed by her representatives as “simply not true”. Cabello also said she had not intended to end things with the group in this way, but that she still wished Fifth Harmony all the best.
Fifth Harmony responded to Cabello at noon (HKT) today, posting on Twitter that they have “consistently made every effort to sit down and discuss the future of Fifth Harmony with Camila”. They continued on to say that they had called group meetings to which she had refused to go, and that “these supposed lengthy conversations in fact never happened”.
Some Fifth Harmony fans have pledged their support to Cabello, saying that that they will continue to support her as a solo singer – and some have also called for the remaining members to talk about this on video, rather than just by releasing written statements, as they question whether the Twitter statements were even written by the group members themselves.
[Monday, December 19]
US RnB band Fifth Harmony announced today at 1pm (HKT) that Camila Cabello had left the group.
The band released a statement on their Twitter account, saying “we are excited to announce that we will be moving forward with the four of us”, referring to Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, and Lauren Jauregui.
The girl group was formed in 2012 on TV talent show The X Factor USA and went on to win third place.
The news was perhaps less surprising given that Cabello had released two singles without the other band members while she was part of the group: I Know What You Did Last Summer, a duet with Shawn Mendes, in 2015; and a joint single with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, called Bad Things, earlier this year.
Fans reacted strongly on Twitter, with some saying they had seen it coming, and others expressing genuine shock, especially as the group had performed at the Jingle Ball only six hours previously.
Some fans, however, managed to find the silver lining: