It's only been a little over a month since Camila Cabello left Fifth Harmony, but the dramatic back-and-forth that trailed her exit makes it feel like it's been decades. Despite attempts to repair the rift left by her departure, it seems there may still be some tension between Cabello and her former bandmates. A new cover story for Billboard reveals that Cabello hasn't spoken to Fifth Harmony since she left the group.
Cabello claimed that she has reached out to the girls directly post-split, but declined to go into further detail. "It was really intense and it’s hard for me to talk about. It makes me sad," the singer told Billboard. "I hoped that it would be a peaceful turning of the page and we would root for each other. But I only got love for them."
As for her decision to go solo, Cabello reiterated to Billboard that it was solely about her personal comfort. In the past, she's claimed the were times she felt "sexualized" in the group, which she found difficult after joining at only 15 years old. (When Cabello first said she felt "sexualized" in the band, Bustle reached out to Fifth Harmony's publicist and Epic Records for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.)
Cabello continued to Billboard,
“The easiest route would be to shut my mouth, sing the songs, wear the clothes and keep going, you know? I mean, [we were] at the peak of our career. It’s definitely not the safe option. [But] I have it in my DNA. The way my mom raised me, it has always been: Don’t settle. Jump and hope you grow wings on the way down.”
Though there are, of course, two sides to every story, you have to commend Cabello's courage. Part of what was so shocking about her exit was that 5H was well on its way to becoming a cultural tour de force. "Work From Home" was one of the biggest hits of 2016, and 7/27 had landed the group a No. 4 slot on the Billboard 200 and enough buzz to kick their careers into overdrive. But Cabello wasn't concerned about capitalizing on fast success, she was focused on being herself.
"I was always super open [that] I couldn’t just sing other people’s words and be totally happy with that," she told Billboard. "You have to follow and honor that inner voice. I always encouraged the girls to do the same."
Regardless of what went down, Cabello deserves to have her voice heard, and if that means finding herself on her own terms, then fans should respect that.
