Twitter Exit: Matty Healy Deactivates Account Following Boygenius Joke Feud with Lucy Dacus
3 min readMatty Healy deactivated his Twitter account after supposedly infuriating Lucy Dacus by making an ignorant, ableist joke on the platform. “I told Lucy Dacus that ‘Boygenius’ encouraged me as well as [drummer] George [Daniel] to create a new band named ‘Girlretard,'” Healy said in a since-deleted tweet made to the account @mattyfrnglomg (which is thought to belong to Healy). I don’t hear from her very often.” After referencing her supergroup trio, Dacus clarified her conversation with Healy by responding, “You don’t hear from me at all.” Healy released one final message in retreat, adding, “Yeah this never goes well does it,” before deactivating the account. Photo of Dacus’ still-active burn.
Matty Healy deactivated after Lucy Dacus of boygenius responded to his tweet about her and the band. pic.twitter.com/wIvz3GfVFn
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 21, 2023
While Healy’s past statements have ranged from well-intentioned but mistaken to flagrantly insensitive, his most recent strayed substantially towards the latter. Rina Sawayama openly called out Healy during her Glastonbury act in June for racist remarks she made on The Adam Friedland Show podcast. In 2020, the 1975 vocalist cancelled his verified Twitter account after sending a statement of support for Black Lives Matter while promoting one of his band’s songs. Though Healy has made a few more appearances with Dacus’ boygenius bandmate Phoebe Bridgers, the two had previously shared the stage alongside Bridgers, Weyes Blood, and Trey Anastasio in 2022 at Jack Antonoff’s Ally Coalition fundraiser performance.
lucy dacus getting matty healy to deactivate is the sexiest thing anyone has ever done pic.twitter.com/dL92WfJKcT
— c🥀 (@ccmrose) September 21, 2023
1975 Frontman Matty Healy Deactivates Twitter Following Lucy Dacus’s Reaction To His Post
Lucy Dacus isn’t buying Matty Healy’s nonsense. At least, that’s what her most recent tweet suggests. Healy, the outspoken frontman for The 1975, made an ableist joke on X (previously Twitter) Thursday morning, telling boygenius member Lucy Dacus that her band inspired him to create a band that used the phrase “girl” together with an ableist slur. “I don’t hear from her very often,” he added. Dacus retweeted Healy’s message with the clapback, “You aren’t hearing from me at all.” Her post has received over 2 million views and 42,000 likes on social media. Healy had completely erased his account by Thursday afternoon. It’s not the very first time Healy has written something terrible on the internet and had his account deactivated. This isn’t the first time. The artist has previously been called out for a slew of issues, including an alleged Nazi gesture on stage, racist remarks regarding rapper Ice Spice, and overall misogyny.
But Philly’s own Dacus doesn’t appear to be having any of it. Dacus & the Boys (as she, Phoebe Bridgers, as well as Julien Baker of boygenius, have become recognised for hosting inclusive events that promote queer joy and diversity) are well-known for their inclusive shows that celebrate queer joy and diversity. Healy has made a couple of cameos during Bridgers’ opening sets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour (including the South Philly event). This was in May when rumors of Swift & Healy casually dating were circulating. That “era” appears to be finished (Swift has subsequently collaborated with Ice Spice on a remix of her song “Karma”). Meanwhile, Lucy is busy with her Boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers & Julien Baker, performing shows, establishing safe, inclusive places for their varied, ever-growing fan bases, and using their platform to convey critical pro-LGBTQ+ messages.
matty healy deleting his account because he got roasted by lucy dacus oh i didn’t know i could love this woman any more than i already did
— annika | eras 7/22 and 7/23!! (@taterhaught_) September 21, 2023
lucy dacus causing matty healy to deactivate was not something I was expecting on my bingo card for 2023 pic.twitter.com/apKs3BKe8J
— ‎ ‎ ‏ ‏ Űź (@generictwhandIe) September 21, 2023
Virgin Matty Healy vs. The Chad Lucy Dacus pic.twitter.com/tPdNpIBE1v
— Your Favorite Jewish Lesbian Playwright (@DudeBethDude) September 21, 2023
it is actually insane that matty healy said one thing about lucy dacus and she shut it down within TEN HOURS and taylor swift was acting like she was literally gonna run away with him for a month
— sheridan (@tullyharts) September 21, 2023