Bebe Rexha calls out 'male music executive' for telling her she's 'getting too old' — at 29
Bebe Rexha is calling out a “male music executive” for telling her she’s “getting too old” ahead of her 30th birthday.
The singer/songwriter, who celebrates the milestone birthday on Aug. 30, shared a steamy snapshot of herself in black lingerie by way of a response to an exec criticizing her over her age and social media presence. Her reply has been applauded by many of her fellow music artists — male and female.
Along with the black and white mirror shot, Rexha wrote that the unidentified person chastised her because he thinks she “was getting too old” and her “brand was ‘confusing.’”
The exec apparently pointed to “sexy pics on my Instagram,” saying “that’s not what female songwriters are supposed to do, especially for my age,” she wrote before adding, “I’m 29.”
Well, that doesn’t fly with Rexha. She makes her “own rules” and won’t be “put in a box,” she wrote.
She went on to slam the perception the exec — and others — has about women: labeling them “as ‘hags’ when they get old” while “guys get labeled as sexy with age.”
Rexha added that with just a couple weeks to go before turning 30, “I’m not running away from it. I’m not gonna lie about my age or sing songs that I feel will sell better because they sound ‘younger,’” she wrote. Instead, “I’m gonna celebrate my age because you know what, I’m wiser, I’m stronger and TRUST ME I’m a much better lover than I was 10 years ago.”
Rexha, who was the fifth coach on The Voice earlier this year, has received lots of supportive messages in response to her post, including from other musical acts. Rita Ora told the “sexy songwriting [queen]” that she is “beautiful” and getting “sexier with age” and her “talent sings for itself.” She urged her to “keep making those rules.”
Natasha Bedingfield said, “I know this story and this kind of ‘advice’ is so bullsh**. I love you.”
Jamie Lynn Spears gave her a “Hell Yeah. Fn right.”
Alex Pall and The Chainsmokers (a collaborator), Betty Who, Ne-Yo and others also shared support:
While Rexha was nominated as Best New Artist at the Grammys this year, she’s not new to the music industry, having been working in it — in one capacity or another — for a decade.
She’s been known for getting real with her growing number of fans, sharing in April that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder — and saying that she will sing about it on her second album.
Her first album, Expectations, came out in 2018 and she’ll be touring for the rest of the year supporting it.
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