What Is the Ethel Cain Issue? Artist Breaks Silence with 2,000-Word Statement — But Is It Just a Non-Apology?

Alternative-rock artist Ethel Cain broke her silence on Wednesday with a 2000-word statement addressing her old controversial posts, including one where she admitted to using the N word.

To some, her statement reads more as an accusation than an apology, with her shifting the blame to the individuals leaking her old comments.

Hayden Anhedönia, professionally known as Ethel Cain, is famous for her music containing southern-gothic themes that tackles heavy topics.

As a teenager, the American singer-songwriter discovered pop music and actively posted across social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr, beginning her transition as a bisexual woman along the way.

She released several EPs between 2019 and 2021 before rising to fame with her debut album, 'Preachers Daughter.' The album tells the story of her alias, Ethel Cain, and addresses intergenerational trauma, domestic violence, substance abuse, and poverty, themes frequently integrated into Anhedönia's music.

Now, Anhedönia is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. In a lengthy statement shared from her Google Drive, she professed her regret for her older posts but took the opportunity to refute many of the allegations made against her.

'These are screenshots obtained through extensive digging, hacking, and cooperative effort amongst a group of individuals who do not care who else is hurt by witnessing this media as long as I am ultimately hurt the worst in the end,' she said.

The Ethel Cain Controversy Explained

On 6 July, X account @herweirdsilas posted a thread of what are allegedly screenshots of Anhedönia's old comments on Q&A platform Curious Cat made from 2017 to 2018.

Anhedönia confirmed in her statement that she made the controversial posts, which contain racism, fatphobia, and encourage incest, when she was 19.

When asked, 'Have you ever said n****r before' on the site, Anhedönia responded, 'in all honesty yes lmao.'

In her statement on Wednesday, Anhedönia singled out her racist comments as being 'truly sorry' for posting.

'At the end of the day I am white, so while I can take accountability for my actions, there's no way for me to fully understand the way it feels to be on the receiving end of them,' she said in her statement.

She acknowledged that being 19 made her old enough to be fully aware of the horrible things she was saying and that growing up in a household of prejudice, ignorance, and hatred made her desperate for attention.

'I would have said (and usually did say) anything, about anyone, to gain attention and ultimately just make my friends laugh,' she admitted.

Another controversial comment came from the question 'Why do you hate fat people so much?' to which Anhedönia replied, 'cause.'

A photo from 2020 of Anhedönia wearing a shirt that had the words 'Legalise Incest' was also posted in the thread.

Addressing The Controversy– An Apology or Accusation?

Anhedönia apologised wholeheartedly to those who felt offended or triggered by her hand-drawn shirt but denied claims she was fetishising incest.

'I was still of a somewhat inflammatory mindset, and fully made that t-shirt to be a crude joke to garner attention,' she explained.

'While sometimes the topic of incest may get intermingled on a song with my own experiences of sexual abuse or my own familial traumas, I have never and would never fetishize such a sensitive subject,' she added.

Accusations surrounding drawings done by Anhedönia of child pornography, sexual abuse towards animals, and fetishising the female experience were staunchly denied by the singer.

'No I am not a violent misogynist fetishising the "female experience." No I am not the creator of child pornography, nor am I a pedophile, a zoophile, or a porn-addicted incest fetishist,' she said, claiming to be the target of a transphobic smear campaign.'

'I urge you to recognize the patterns of a transphobic/otherwise targeted smear campaign, especially in this political day and age. This information was hoarded until the perfect moment arose to unleash it,' she said.