Ella Henderson Receives Huge Backlash for Performing at Tory Party Event

Is the former X Factor star, Ella Henderson about to be cancelled?

Usually, the Conservative Party Conference is an attempt to rebrand and refresh policies and ideas for their own party and the public. But, this year, the conference has struggled to draw up any positive enthusiasm, thanks to the succession of scandals that have plagued the party. Public frustration at the Tories is reaching an all-time high. People are sick of the harsh immigration policies, the neglect of the economy, and the unprecedented rise in bills. All this anger needs to be directed somewhere, and it appears, former X Factor contestant, Ella Henderson has unexpectedly been caught in the crossfire.

Ella Henderson

Ella (Promotional Shots)

Fans went into meltdown this week as the Lincolnshire-born singer was pictured performing at the tory party conference. The footage shows an upbeat Ella, singing her greatest hits to a room full of MPs and officials in suits. The attendees look quite thrilled at the private show, which is probably due to the fact that most artists reject such offers. However, Ella looked delighted on stage, which angered many of her supporters.

“It’s important to remember in a time we talk about queerbaiting a lot, be conscious that it doesn’t have to involve anything sexually suggestive,” says Chris (@ChrisJaeThey) on Twitter. “One of the prevalent forms of queerbaiting is performing every Pride that’ll pay you on a Saturday, then at a Tory event on a Tuesday,” they continued. Most of the disappointed fans are from the LGBT+ community. To make things worse, Ella’s career has been propped up by the UK’s queer community and she even gigged at Brighton Pride just a few months earlier. Accepting a gig from the Tories, therefore, is a stab in the front – let alone the back.

“Would hate to be on Ella Henderson’s PR team this morning,” says a half joking half serious Twitter user. And, Ella’s PR team has responded, claiming that the event was organised by TikTok, and as a result, the show doesn’t suggest that Ella has political affiliation with the party. The team also claim that Ella was due to perform at the Labour Party conference a week before, but had to pull out due to an illness.

Regardless of whether Ella’s performance was meant to be a political statement or not, it still made a statement. The Conservative Party has had a very real negative impact on many vulnerable communities in the UK, including the LGBT+ community. So, the backlash is unsurprising, to say the least. The world is going through a very tumultuous time, and artists need to be more conscious of the political contexts in which they choose to work in. If Ella didn’t want backlash, she should have remained politically neutral, but she didn’t. Ella decided to follow the money, and for that, she must now face the consequences.

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