Entertainment Music Pop Music Halsey Reveals That a 'Powerful' Music Executive Looked Through Her Nudes Without Consent: 'I Was Just Frozen' The unnamed exec went through nude photos that were on the singer's phone while she was in the bathroom, Halsey explained on 'Call Her Daddy' By Bailey Richards Bailey Richards Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and interned with the brand in 2022. Her work has previously appeared in digital publications like Paper Magazine and TV Insider. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 30, 2024 03:50PM EDT Comments Halsey in New York in September 2024. Photo: Gotham/WireImage Halsey is opening up about a “demoralizing” moment in which someone in the industry violated her privacy. While appearing on the Oct. 30 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the singer-songwriter, 30, revealed that they caught a “powerful” music executive going through — and potentially sending himself — nude photos of her that were on her phone. Halsey brought up the incident as she and host Alex Cooper discussed sexual power dynamics within the entertainment industry — and the “scary” situations that can arise as a result of them. Halsey Shares Video from Hospital After Suffering 'Very Scary' Seizure: 'Don’t Recommend It' “I had a really strange situation a couple years ago,” Halsey began. “I mean, I guess it was quite a long time ago, but I was out and I was with this executive, like this really powerful executive who works in music in some capacity.” At the time, The Great Impersonator artist — who uses she/they pronouns— had been “hanging out” and “working” with the exec, and was accompanied by her two “older” male managers, so she felt “like everything was really fine,” she explained. “It was very just celebratory and there was a lot of industry talk. I didn't feel weird about it at all,” they said. “I never felt unsafe or anything.” Halsey Says She Created New Album The Great Impersonator While 'In the Space Between Life and Death' During the night out, the unnamed executive asked Halsey to send a photo of himself and the "Closer" singer to his niece, so she took out her phone and gave it to him, the musician recalled. “I took a selfie of the two of us and I handed him my phone and I was like, ‘Text it to yourself. I have to pee.’ And then I went to the bathroom and when I came back, he handed me my phone like this,” Halsey told Cooper, quickly putting an imaginary phone down without showing the screen. “And I saw he was going through my nudes on my phone,” they explained. After sitting down, Halsey said she “didn't even know what to do,” and began questioning whether it actually happened. “I was just frozen,” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Did I just imagine that? Was that an accident? Did the phone scroll up? What the heck just happened?’” Halsey in Las Vegas in September 2024. David Becker/Getty “And then I was like, ‘Did he text them to himself and then delete the messages? I don't even know where these are now,’” she continued, explaining that “invasive” incident took her to a dark place mentally. “I'm in this situation where I have so much power,” they said. “I have a bodyguard and I have, you know, all the leverage in the world and I'm in this exclusive space in this VIP, I've reached the ranks of like, ‘Oh, I am protected or whatever else it may be.’ And then this invasive thing just happens on a whim.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. It made her feel like she had “regressed,” the star explained. “I went from being like, ‘Yeah, I'm like f---ing hot s--- and I'm one of the big players.’ And then I sat down.” “And when that happened, in that moment, I was like, ‘You're nothing. You're nothing. You'll always be nothing. You're still just that f---ing girl who's getting taken advantage of, or like men are talking about you behind your back, or you're some sort of like, collateral,’” she continued. “I was like, ‘You're nothing.’ It was so demoralizing.” “So many worse things have happened to me than that,” Halsey added, “but that one stuck out for some reason because it was so nonchalant.” Close