Camila Cabello remembers Fifth Harmony's performance at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards and still is hurt by the not-so-subtle dig at her sudden departure.
Last year, the group went onstage to perform the song "Down." They started with five women but when they took off the hood of their jackets, one of them was yanked off of the stage.
The remaining members of the girl group swear that the fifth member was not supposed to be a jab at Cabello, but was included to represent the media. Pulling her off of the stage was meant to send the message that even if there are just four of them now, they are stronger and they will strive to be better than ever before.
However, Cabello and the rest of the world saw it as a snide remark at the singer's sudden departure to pursue a solo career. In a new interview with The New York Times, in time for the release of her debut album, Camila, the singer finally addressed the performance.
Betrayal
The "Crying in the Club" singer was not present at the awards event during the performance. Instead, she was at home watching from her TV with her mother when the group metaphorically yanked her off of their lives. Cabello admitted that she cried when she saw the stunt.
"It definitely hurt my feelings," she shared to the publication. "I wasn't expecting it, I wasn't prepared for it — especially because at that point Id moved on from it. I was just like, 'What? Why?'"
By the time of the performance, the 20-year-old has been out of the group for nearly eight months. Fifth Harmony announced her departure in December 2016 after four years and a half years of being a team.
Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, and Lauren Jauregui's letter to the fans had a hint of bitterness especially on how Cabello handled the separation. They hinted that Cabello decided on her own and informed them about her plans to leave the group through her representatives.
— Fifth Harmony (@FifthHarmony) December 19, 2016
Going Her Own Way
Cabello also, for the first time, revealed why she left Fifth Harmony after four successful years of making music. She recalled that her collaboration with Shawn Mendes in 2015 for the song "I Know What You Did Last Summer" created tension.
When she asked to help write new music for Fifth Harmony, she was denied. She also wanted to stay with the group while also working on a solo album, but her former comembers shut her down.
"I was just curious and I wanted to learn and I saw all these people around me making music, writing songs and being so free," she explained.
Her relationship with the four other members of the group went sour when she started attending writing sessions with Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, and Diplo. Eventually, she was given an ultimatum: she cannot make a solo album while, at the same, time performing with the group. She left.
With several hit songs, Cabello certainly made the right decision to go solo. Her debut album, Camila, is now available for purchase.
