Betty Who breaks silence after being accused of making ‘lesbophobic’ comments about Reneé Rapp

Australian singer Betty Who has issued a statement after receiving significant backlash following comments she made about fellow celebrity Reneé Rapp’s sexuality.

Betty Who, real name Jessica Anne Newham, made the comments about Reneé Rapp on the 19 August episode of Mallorie Glownke’s lesbian focused podcast Made It Out.

During the podcast, Glownke turned the conversation to Jojo Siwa and Fletcher, two sapphic artists who have previously been in relationships with women and have huge queer female followings.

This summer, both of them revealed they were dating men, with Siwa coupling up with her Big Brother UK co-star Chris Hughes and Fletcher detailing that she is dating a man in her new track “Boy”.

Speaking about on the topic, Who – a self-described “queer, bisexual” woman – likened the discourse to when she married her husband Zak Cassar in 2020. “As much as it’s funny that Reneé Rapp is like, ‘You’ll never catch me dating a man.’ It’s like, ‘Go off, queen! I love that for you.’ But I also hold space for her in 10 years if she goes, ‘Oops, I met the love of my life and it’s this man, I didn’t mean to.’ It’s like, that’s okay!”

However, her comments received swift backlash, with many accusing the singer of “lesbophobia” and pushing harmful tropes about lesbians and queer women, particularly the idea that an exclusively woman-loving-woman just ‘hasn’t found the right man yet’.

Taking to their Instagram story on their official account on Thursday (28 August), 33-year-old Who published a lengthy statement in which she apologised for her language and reinforcing ideas that are “harmful or dismissive” to lesbians, vowing to “do better”.

She wrote: “In recent days, I’ve taken time to sit with the conversation around my gender and sexuality. I recognise that the language I used poorly articulated my experience and unintentionally reinforced ideas that were harmful or dismissive, particularly toward the lesbian community.

“That was never my intention, and I’m truly sorry. Everyone’s journey is deeply personal, and I shouldn’t have spoken in ways that generalised or spoke for others.”

They went on to say the interview was to discuss their own journey, “specifically, how I figured out how to identify myself and how I ultimately landed on non-binary and bisexual, both assignments that live somewhere in-between”.

“I understand there is so much nuance in this conversation, and in other people’s lived experiences, that my comments did not reflect. I also recognise that I’m coming from a place of privilege, and I never meant to contribute to prejudice against the community,” they said.

Who concluded: “The LGBTQ+ community is my home; it’s where I came alive, found my people, and learned more about love, acceptance, and tolerance on a deeper human level. I will do better.”