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At midnight on July 9, 2025, netizens began posting screenshots of singer, songwriter Ethel Cain's Spotify account featuring a collage of some of the statements that the singer had previously made. This indicated that the singer's Spotify account had been hacked.
The comments in question that came to light were resurfaced tweets and posts from a now-defunct Q&A platform called Curious Cat, dating back to 2017 and 2018. In these screenshots, Ethel put forth racist jabs, mocked Hispanic people, and also made r*pe jokes.
In a series of tweets, netizens called out the unethical incident of the artist's Spotify account being hacked within a day of the controversy, dubbing it a "transphobic" move, given that Ethel is a trans artist.
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"all credibility and weight of the accusations made abt hayden went down the drain the minute her spotify was hacked and she was misgendered. undeniable proof these people couldn't give a f*ck about racism or incest they are just humongous transphobes f*ck out my face" a netizen remarked
On the other hand, some claimed that it was a well-planned conspiracy ahead of the release of her sophomore album, Willoughby Trucker, I Will Always Love You.
"hacking ethel cain’s spotify in the middle of the night exactly a month before her new album release sounds a lot like an orchestrated hate campaign motivated by transphobia to me. this is not holding someone accountable, this is public humiliation. transphobia is not the answer." an X user tweeted
The incident sparked responses from fans of the Nettles singer, some of whom took to X to confirm if Ethel's Spotify was hacked, and some who expressed their discontent:
Ethel Cain dubs latest controversy a "massive smear campaign" in statement explaining her side of the story
According to Stereogum's July 9, 2025, report, a member of a subreddit dedicated to Ethel Cain posted screenshots dating back to 2017 and 2018 on July 6, 2025. These screenshots were reportedly posted to expose the trans singer and first shared to an X account called @herweirdsilas.
The viral screenshots featured Ethel using the N-word and writing "build the wall!" in response to a prompt concerning Hispanic people. The term originated from President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, where he proposed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to curb drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Additionally, the screenshots also featured a photo of Ethel Cain sporting a T-shirt that read "LEGALIZE INCEST", fat-shaming and r*pe jokes, a poster parodying a missing poster of a 9-year-old girl who was murdered, and a drawing which netizens have claimed to be child pornography.
On July 9, 2025, Ethel Cain published a statement via Google Docs where she took accountability for being "entirely aware" of her statements, adding that she was 19 at the time. She mentioned that some of it stemmed from her later high school years of being extremely progressive and an "SJW" (social justice warrior), rebelling against the hatred and ignorance of her culture.
"At the end of the day I am white, so while I can take accountability for my actions, there’s no way for me to fully understand the way it feels to be on the receiving end of them. All I can say is that I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart, to anyone who read it then and to anyone reading it now. Any way you feel about me moving forward is valid." Ethel wrote
Ethel Cain was very clear that the screenshots that have surfaced aren't something that a person discovers easily by casually surfing the internet. She claimed that the screenshots were a result of "extensive digging, hacking, and cooperative effort amongst a group of individuals" who didn't care who else was hurt by leaking these bits as long as it was Ethel who was hurt the most.
The American Teenager singer mentioned:
"I’ve known that all of these separate pieces of my past have been found and hoarded over the past couple years as I’ve been tipped off in various ways. This massive smear campaign has been a long time in the making, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed, and now it finally has."
In addition to admitting her mistake, Ethel Cain mentioned every aspect of the viral screenshots, along with a reason for what caused her to post such things in the past.
Ethel's fans have been posting messages in her support, given that the singer has achieved milestones like being the first openly transgender artist to land a top 10 album on the Billboard charts.
