A Look at Jade Thirlwall and Boyfriend Jordan Stephens's Support for LGBTiQ Community
Jade Thirlwall and Jordan Stephens are working on being better LGBTQ allies.
hm
Jade Thirlwall is one-third of Little Mix — the winner of The X Factor in 2011 and one of the best-selling girl bands of all time.
Thirlwall joined the band via The X Factor in 2011 and has been together with the band to date. She has released six albums with the Little Mix and many hits like ‘Salute,’ ‘Hair,’ ‘Shout Out to My Ex,’ and ‘Black Magic.’
Currently, she is dating a fellow singer, Jordan Stephens. Stephens is the one half of the British band Rizzle Kicks.
Stephens slid into Thirlwall’s DMs in May 2020, and they went on a few dates after that. The Little Mix singer confirmed their relationship in October 2020.
The duo seldom share pictures of each other on their socials, so not much is known about their relationship.
However, one thing is for sure — they are huge supporters of the LGBTQ community.
Jade Thirlwall and Jordan Stephens Are LGBTQ Allies
LGBTQ allies are straight and/or cisgender people who advocate for the LGBTQ community.
On June 20, 2021, Thirlwall opened up about being an ally via Metro UK. She shared who a good ally is and how she is trying her best to be one.
According to her, a good ally genuinely supports the cause and is not just showing off. Similarly, they constantly support the community throughout the year and not just during pride month.
Thirlwall focused on how she has been learning how to be a better ally. She said that no one is perfect and all we could do was educate ourselves.
She shared she has been reading books and learning more about being an ally every day. Thirlwall is also conscious of the influence she has.
Being a part of Little Mix, initially, she did not realize how much the community was influenced by them.
She started learning about their influence after going to a couple of gay bars where they played the band’s songs and danced to their choreography.
Eventually, Thirlwall opened her social media, where she received hundreds of DMs every day from her LGBTQ fans. Reading texts from her fans motivated her to be an excellent ally.
The singer also apologized for the music video of their song ‘Confetti.’ She and her bandmates, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, had dressed up as drag kings for the music video.
People started questioning why they did not include the actual drag kings in the video. Thirlwall sincerely apologized for their mistake.
She clarified their intentions were in the right place but fell short. However, she promised to learn from the situation and be more aware of it in the future.
Currently, Thirlwall is reading books on LGBTQ history, donating to charities, and raising awareness.
Despite all the backlash and controversies that might arise in the future, Thirlwall has vouched never to stop being an ally.
Stephens is also like his girlfriend when it comes to being an ally. He is a cisgender straight male who is comfortable dressing up in drag and exploring his feminine side.
Thirlwall, a huge fan of drag culture, was looking for a boyfriend who was comfortable in his skin and loved the culture. Stephens had the exact personality she was looking for.
In addition to that, she found out that Stephens had played a drag queen in Tucked, which was a bonus point for her.
Stephens has often raised his voice against homophobia and misogynistic music in the industry. For example, in 2013, he called out artists like Kanye West, Eminem, Jay—Z, and Nelly for using offensive language in their songs.
Similarly, Stephens has blamed society for misogyny and toxic masculinity. He opened up about how he could not express his feelings because of toxic masculinity.
He focused on how being vulnerable should be normalized amongst men. Similarly, he said that it was okay to address feelings and talk to other people about them.
The couple always uses their platforms to advocate for the LGBTQ community and spread awareness. They are strong allies who care about the community and work on being better allies every day.