Halsey took to Twitter on Tuesday to encourage understanding and compassion for those living with bipolar disorder. “No jokes right now. I have dedicated my career to offering education and insight about bipolar disorder and I’m so disturbed by what I’m seeing,†Halsey wrote on Twitter. “Personal opinions about someone aside, a manic episode isn’t a joke. If you can’t offer understanding or sympathy, offer your silence.†She went on to tweet that “you can hate someone’s actions or opinions without contributing to stigma that damages an entire community of sometimes vulnerable people all for a couple of laughs.†Halsey called for more sensitivity when talking about mental illness throughout her thread, and pointed out that people who suffer from mental illness can be “assholes. Because they are people. With nuanced personalities.†The singer has been open in the past about her own struggle with bipolar disorder, and named her latest album Manic.
Jamie Lynn Spears reposted Halsey’s tweet on Instagram, writing in her caption that for those who “deal with mental illness or care for someone dealing with mental illness,†it’s important to “respect the situation with privacy for the person, and the family trying to protect their loved ones.†Spears replied to an Instagram comment on the post asking her to “speak on†her sister, Britney Spears, writing, “You have no right to assume anything about my sister, and I have NO right to speak about HER health and personal matters. She is a strong, badass, unstoppable woman, and that’s the only thing that is OBVIOUS.â€