Jade Thirlwall is trying not to give trolls the time of day.
The Little Mix star has admitted she would always “snap back” at keyboard warriors but she now aims to only give one “clapback a month” after a fan told her she is better off taking the time to reply to Mixers.
Speaking to ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ finalist Bimini Bon Boulash during an Instagram Live with Sink The Pink, Jade said: “In the beginning I’d always snap back. One of our fans messaged and said, ‘Why are you giving these people attention?’ And it was like, ‘You’re so right, there’s ten times more actual fans I could be engaging with’.
“So now I try to whittle it down to maybe one clapback a month.”
The ‘Black Magic’ hitmakers – whose founding member Jesy Nelson quit the group because of the impact being in the band was having on her mental health – previously insisted fans don’t realise “what goes on behind the scenes” and though they love their careers, pop success hasn’t been easy.
Perrie Edwards – who completes the trio alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock – said last year: “I don’t think we expected it to be this hard. When you’re young and you think of being a popstar, you think, ”Oh I want everyone to love me and ask for my autograph…’ then you get thrown into it and you’re like, ”Holy s*** balls it’s a lot’.’
“We don’t rest, we don’t sleep. But we love success so we’re willing to work for it and it’s been an amazing 10 years!”
Leigh-Anne added: “People don’t see how hard it is, the things that go on behind the scenes. People don’t understand the pressure. People sometimes see popstars and think, ‘Oh it is glam and glitz’, but really it’s hard.”