Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall left RuPaul’s Drag Race viewers howling during her guest appearance on Tuesday night, with one comment in particular really capturing fans’ attention.
During the episode, Jade helped the five remaining queens record their vocals as part of a girl group challenge, before offering her critiques on the main stage.
When she was introduced by RuPaul on the runway, the drag icon asked her: “How did recording with the queens compare to recording with Little Mix?”
“Oh it’s just the same really,” Jade joked. “I bossed everyone around and there’s an ugly rumour going around that one of the girls is leaving the group tonight.”
The comment prompted a shocked reaction from both Ru and fellow judge Michelle Visage, with many Little Mix fans picking up on the reference to former bandmate Jesy Nelson’s much-publicised exit from the chart-topping group.
And suffice to say, they had a lot to say about it...
Jade recorded her appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World in March 2021, three months after Jesy announced she was leaving Little Mix.
Jesy told fans at the time that being part of the group was taking its toll on her mental health, with remaining trio Jade, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock deciding to continue as a three-piece.
While all parties initially maintained that Jesy’s exit from Little Mix was amicable, this appeared to have changed somewhat by the end of last year.
Jesy released her debut solo single Boyz in October, and although it peaked at number four in the UK singles chart, it also landed the singer in hot water when she was heavily accused of Blackfishing and cultural appropriation.
After reports claimed Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade had all unfollowed Jesy on social media around the time of the controversy, unverified leaked DMs from Leigh-Anne to a TikTok user suggested that Jesy had, in fact, had blocked them.
The alleged messages were not verified, and Leigh-Anne did not comment on the matter publicly. However, the subject did end up forming a major part of the conversation during an ill-fated Instagram live-stream Jesy did with Nicki Minaj, in which the rapper branded Leigh-Anne a “fucking clown” and accused her of being “jealous” of Jesy.
Since then, Jesy has admitted she and the group are no longer speaking, insisting to Graham Norton: “It is sad but honestly there is no bad blood from my side.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World concludes on Tuesday night at 9pm on BBC Three.