In December 2016, the worst fears of Harmonizers were realized. Fifth Harmony, now consisting of Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane Hansen, Normani Kordei, and Ally Brooke only, announced that Camila Cabello had left the group.
“After 4 and a half years of being together, we have been informed via her representatives that Camila has decided to leave Fifth Harmony,” the girls wrote on Twitter.
“We wish her well. … That being said, we are excited to announce that we will be moving forward with the four of us - Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauregui for our fans. We are four strong, committed women who will continue with Fifth Harmony as well as our solo endeavors.”
Camilla went on to pursue a solo career while the other girls continued on for another year as a four-piece. But fans are wondering nearly six years later if there’s any bad blood between Camilla and her former bandmates.
What Did Fifth Harmony Say When Camila Departed The Group?
Camila responded to Fifth Harmony’s initial statement only hours later, denying that she had only informed the girls via her representatives:
“I was shocked to read the statement the fifth harmony account posted without my knowing. the girls were aware of my feelings through the long, much needed conversations about the future that we had during tour. Saying that they were just informed through my representatives that i was ‘leaving the group’ is simply not true.”
Later in Camila’s statement, she confirmed that she would “continue to root them all on as individuals and as a group.”
Fifth Harmony hit back at Camila's claims later that day.
“Over the past several months we have consistently made every effort to sit down and discuss the future of Fifth Harmony with Camila.
"We have spent the past year and a half (since her initial solo endeavor) trying to communicate to her and her team all of the reasons why we felt Fifth Harmony deserved at least one more album of her time, given the success of this past year that we’d all worked so hard for,” the group wrote.
“In mid November we were informed via her manager that Camila was leaving the group. At that time we were informed that December 18th would be her final performance with Fifth Harmony. We were truly hurt. … To watch Camila walk away from this special world we’ve built with you is tough but we will move forward together.”
In August of the following year, as Fifth Harmony promoted their first album as a quartet, they refused to answer questions about Camila on the Bizarre Life podcast.
“We want to talk about our new music,” Lauren said. “We don’t want to be shady, man. We just have better things to talk about.”
How Normani Responded To Camila’s Resurfaced Racist Posts
Though there has been rumored tension between Camila and the rest of Fifth Harmony in the years since her departure, Camila later insisted she was on good terms with her former bandmates, telling Access Hollywood (via Us Weekly) that she was “in a good place” with the other girls again.
However, at the end of 2019, Camila came under fire for resurfaced racist Tweets and Tumblr posts that she had posted. Normani broke her silence on the incident in February 2020.
“It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me,” Normani shared in a statement.
“It took days for her to acknowledge [the bullying] I was dealing with online and then years for her to take responsibility for the offensive tweets that recently resurfaced. Whether or not it was her intention, this made me feel like I was second to the relationship that she had with her fans.”
What The Girls Have Said About Being In Fifth Harmony Since
As of 2022, Fifth Harmony is no longer active, having announced that they were splitting up in March 2018. Since then, each girl has opened up about her time in Fifth Harmony, with some admissions surprising fans.
“I hate saying this, my time in Fifth Harmony, I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t love it,” Ally said in a May 2021 episode of her podcast The Ally Brooke Show, adding that her experience was “traumatizing” and “there was so much toxicity” behind the scenes. She later revealed that she struggled with her body image while she was in the group.
Meanwhile, Normani opened up in August 2021 about feeling like she wasn’t given the same opportunities to shine in the group as the other girls were: “I didn’t get to really sing in the group. I felt like I was overlooked,” she told Allure (via J-14). “That idea has been projected on me. Like, this is your place.”
In an April 2020 interview with People, Dinah confirmed that she had positive memories of the group and she was “so proud of everything that we’ve done and have accomplished.”
Regardless of the toxicity that may have been present, Lauren admitted that she feels like she formed a sisterhood with the other girls in December 2021: “I think that we went through too much life s–t together for it to just be a coworker-ship. I think that there’s a sisterhood. There’s just this constant love no matter what. But I think we all took our time to heal.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrWiv4yfoJ%2BsmGK1or7MqKWyZaOWtqV5wJumrqxdmK6utcuaZJyZkpq5rbuMm6memZuqvXA%3D