Angel of LGBTQ+: Jade Thirlwall reflects on pushback she received for flying the LGBTQ+ flag during her time in Little Mix

Jade Thirlwall, whose epic debut single Angel of My Dreams exploded on the pop scene earlier this year, has claimed LGBTQ+ scenes were cut from Little Mix’s hit single, Secret Love Song.

While promoting her new single, the former Little Mix star pulled up a chair with Willam Belli from RuPaul’s Drag Race, who previously appeared in the group’s Power music video.

During the chat, Willam asked: “Did you ever get any pushback in the group from the label for wanting to do gay shit and putting drag queens in everything?”

“Yes,” Jade replied.

“There have been times, I know the original treatment for Secret Love Song was a lot more LGBTQ+ based. There were, like, storylines in the video, it was more, like, narrative-led. And it got scrapped, unfortunately.”

“It happens,” Willam responded, “It does. But things like that do annoy me.”

Jade and her Little Mix bandmates, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, have long spoken about how they hoped for Secret Love Song to be considered an anthem for the queer community.

The song was eventually released as a single, featuring a guest verse from Jason Derulo, although Secret Love Song Part II, sans Derulo, continued to be a staple of their live shows until they went on hiatus in 2022.

Throughout her time in the spotlight, Jade has supported the LGBTQ+ community by marching multiple Pride events, holding meetings to improve her allyship with Stonewall and winning a Gay Times allyship award in 2021.