Getty Images via ABCSex sells, and Camila Cabello knows that all too well. In an interview with Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter conducted before she left Fifth Harmony, Camila says there were times where she felt overly-sexualized as part of the girl group.
“Unfortunately, sex sells,” she says. “There’s definitely been times where there’s stuff that I have not been comfortable with and I’ve had to put my foot down.”
She adds, whoever, that she’s not opposed to expressing sexuality on your own terms: for example, she admires the way Rihanna embraces her sexiness.
“There’s nothing wrong with showing sexuality,” Camila says. “If you have that inside, it’s just an expression of who you are. If you want to share that with people, that’s amazing. I love that. Look at Rihanna. She’s so sexy. She comes from Planet Sexy. I worship her. I really, really do.”
Camila began her career on X Factor at the age of 15, and says she’s had to learn to grow into herself while being in the public eye. Now, at 19, she says she’s more confident to sing songs with sexual undertones. One Fifth Harmony song in particular — called “Dope” — was written by Lena’s partner, Jack Antonoff, and is about sexual infatuation.
“I’ve realized that, growing into myself now, I think two years ago I would’ve been afraid to sing about that,” Camila says. “That’s completely natural because I wasn’t ready yet. I think the thing that I would say to young women is, if you’re not ready for it, put your foot down.”
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