Jesy Nelson pulls out of MTV EMA and Little Mix: The Search final over mystery illness
Jesy Nelson has sparked concern after pulling out of tonight’s Little Mix: The Search final
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Jesy Nelson has pulled out of presenting tonight’s Little Mix: The Search final with just hours to go after falling sick with a mystery illness.
The singer, 29, will also not appear on Sunday night’s MTV European Music Awards alongside her bandmates, who are set to host the virtual ceremony.
A rep for the band said: “Jesy is unwell and will not be appearing on tonight’s final of Little Mix The Search.
“She will also not be hosting or performing at tomorrow’s MTV EMAs.”
No further information was given about Jesy’s condition.
The announcement came just hours after Jesy sparked concern in a promotional clip for the band’s new album Confetti.
The clip – which has since been deleted – showed her looking lethargic and bored as she stood next to bandmates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirwall.
Amid snowballing concerns, the promotional video was deleted from music platform Anghami’s official Twitter page on Friday.
Fans grew worried after noticing Jesy didn’t look as excited about the album drop as her bandmates.
She had appeared in The Search’s semi-final on Friday night, which had been delayed from last Saturday thanks to Boris Johnson’s late-running lockdown announcement.
She performed a mix of Little Mix hits with her bandmates in the studio at the opening of the show, including 2020 single Holiday and their 2016 hit Touch.
Jesy was due to host and perform at the EMAs tomorrow night, as Little Mix are up for four prestigious awards.
The sad news comes just 24 hours after the release of the band’s sixth studio album Confetti – and some fans have speculated that Jesy’s gruelling workload may have contributed to her illness.
One tweeted that she looked “exhausted” in the deleted clip, while others said she looked “so done” after filming more than 20 videos.
It comes just weeks after Jesy broke down in tears during the band’s live radio performance – their first since the lifting of the first lockdown.
Jesy later told fans she’d suffered a panic attack and was comforted by Jade as she shook in fear.
“So my nerves got the better of me today,” she wrote.
“I had panic attack right before we were about to sing this for live lounge today and like a pro @perrieedwards jumped in for my part last minute and smashed it.
“This is what we originally did in rehearsals.”
Radio 1 presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star Clara Amfo later praised the band for their ‘sisterhood’ as they came together to support Jesy.
An emotional Clara told listeners: “I just want to say, big up to Little Mix. I think we can all agree that Little Mix must be protected at all costs.
“Yesterday you may have noticed, that the gap between hearing the latest single and the cover was a little longer than usual, and Jesy’s been very open and very honest about why that was.”
Clara went on to explain what happened and how the girls came together and showed complete unity.
“She, in her own words, said ‘look rehearsals, my nerves got the better of me today, so I had a panic attack right before we were about to sing for the Live Lounge. And like a pro, Perrie Edwards jumped in for my part last minute, and she smashed it. This is what we originally did in rehearsals’.
“I just want to stress, and what I really think they need to be bigged-up for, is that those four women are as thick as thieves,” she continued.
“What I saw yesterday was a great example of real sisterhood and them just showing why they’re such a great band.”
“They really came through for each other and they switched up the arrangement in a matter of minutes, and they sang beautifully.
“I really respect Jesy for being transparent about what she’s going through, because as music fans, and as people that consume pop culture, I think we still have this element of thinking that people’s lives are perfect just because they’re really well-known or might make a lot of money and be famous.
“I think we can wrongly assume that everything’s just okay all the time, and sometimes it’s not. So, big up to Jesy for being so honest, and big up to them as a unit for coming through like champs yesterday.”
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