Jade Thirlwall has revealed she used to feel ‘blackmailed’ and ‘bribed’ by male music industry professionals during her rise to fame.

The former Little Mix star – who launched her solo career as JADE last year – has declared she is taking back control and setting new boundaries to ‘protect’ herself after feeling ‘backed into a corner’.

In an interview with Stylist Magazine, Jade, 32, shared that one of the decisions she’s made to ‘take back control’ is refusing to work with men she has never met before after enduring some ‘bad experiences.’ 

She said: ‘In terms of the music industry, I don’t want to feel backed into a corner any more, or blackmailed or bribed: ”If you don’t choose this as a single, you can’t have this.”

‘I don’t want older men’s opinions forced upon me. I’ve grown a lot as a woman in the industry and it’s hard to navigate at times. 

‘I’ve refused to do sessions on my own with a man I’ve not met before now because of experiences I’ve had. 

Jade Thirlwall has revealed she used to feel ‘blackmailed’ and ‘bribed’ by male music industry professionals during her rise to fame

The star first rose to fame as a member of the band Little Mix (pictured in 2011), and declared she’s taking back control and setting new boundaries to ‘protect’ herself

‘It’s sad I have to make that decision, but it’s what I have to do to protect myself.’

The pop star went onto recall being told ‘how to act and dress’ by men and explained that it was a hard balancing act of not wanting to be ‘overly Sєxualised’ and ‘feel empowered’.

The Angel of My Dreams singer also admitted she could easily get cancelled speaking out on various issues, but she is ‘happy to pay the consequences’.

Jade sH๏τ to fame alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson in chart-topping girl group Little Mix, who formed on The X Factor in 2011.

She released her debut single Angel of My Dreams in 2024 and has since released the tracks ‘Fantasy’ and ‘IT Girl’.

JADE is nominated for Song of the Year for ‘Angel of My Dreams’ and Pop Act at the upcoming BRIT Awards and will also make her debut solo performance at the music bash at The O2 in London on March 1.

It comes after Little Mix fans were sent into a frenzy, after the band’s social media account shared their first new post in two years.

The girlband – made up of Jade, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – went their separate ways after wrapping their Confetti tour in May 2022.

Jade shared that one of the decisions she’s made to ‘take back control’ is refusing to work with men she has never met before after enduring some ‘bad experiences

And fans went wild after seeing their return to social media when they shared the post to their official group  account as they thought the trio were finally announcing plans to reunite.

However, many were left disappointed as Little Mix posted to ask their 17 million followers to vote for Jade following her two Brit Award nominations. 

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Jade has received nods for Song Of The Year for her debut single Angel Of My Dreams and Pop Act, which was voted for by fans.

Alongside a short video montage of Jade’s solo career highlights so far, the group penned: ‘Calling all Mixers….’ 

Fans quickly rushed to the comments to say they nearly had a ‘heart attack’ from the post notification and were left disappointed there was no reunion announcement.  

‘I had a heart attack thinking the reunion was coming; OMGGG SCREAMING THROWING UP NOSTALGIA; Gonna need a minute to recover from this post notification;

‘I HAVE HOPE NOW STILL POSTING ON THIS ACC THEY WILL BE BACK; Stop I thought it was an announcement; Ffs the way my heart jumped when I saw LM had posted. Obvs happy for all solo careers but I miss LM SO MUCH;   

‘Thought yall were announcing a tour or sum like damn; My heart actually sank seeing’s this omg; Don’t do that to me, don’t get my hopes up; Never clicked on a notification this fast’.

Jade released her debut single in July last year and it reached number seven in the UK Singles Charts. 

Little Mix were originally a four-piece until Jesy Nelson quit the group in 2020.