Cupcakke Announces She's Quitting Music in Tearful Video

Up-and-coming rapper Cupcakke, who has a huge following among young queer and trans people, took to Instagram on Sunday night to tearfully announce her retirement, saying she plans on removing all her music from streaming platforms.

In the troubling video, Cupcakke (whose real name is Elizabeth Harris) is wrapped in a blanket on a hotel room bed, being filmed by a friend. "I am done with music," she says in an 18 minute clip. "I am done with the tour, even though this is the beginning. I'm sorry to let every fan down."

The rapper behind "Duck Duck Goose" and "Deep Throat" says she's leaving music because she feels judged and unable to be herself. She also believes that she's a bad influence on her fans.

"I have people of all ages -- 10, 11 years old -- coming to my shows," she says, "and I feel as though I'm corrupting them with my songs."

"When I made those songs I was 16, 17 and honestly, I couldn't really give two shits, you know?" she adds. "But I saw a video and it was of a 13-year-old dancing to the music and I just decided that's it. I don't wanna do music no more."

Cupcakke -- who is just 22 at the time of her retirement announcement -- is known for her sex-positive and LGBTQ+ affirming anthems. Her debut album, Audacious, featured the track "LGBT," a song about self-acceptance and self-love which she says she wrote "strictly for the gay community to know that they are loved and don't need to feel judged."

In 2018, Cupcakke released a video for her single "Crayons," which featured the hook "boy on boy, girl on girl, like who the fuck you like, fuck the world!" In the video, the performer and a group of LGBTQ+ people defend a gay couple from harassment. After fending off their assailants, the group erupts into a joyous dance party.

Prior to her sudden break from the music industry, Cupcakke attracted attention for a bizarre tweetstorm in which she called Shawn Mendes gay, mocked K-Pop star Chungha's name, and claimed Camila Cabello is "racist." (Cupcakke, however, is not the first to make that claim).

The 22-year-old rapper deleted her Instagram and Twitter shortly after posting the video. As of writing this, her music is still available on streaming services. We wish her all the best.

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