Out lesbian singer Kehlani is making waves right now after sparking internet backlash when they publicly announced a new relationship.
Rumors started spreading that Kehlani was dating British rapper Kwn after the two shared a steamy kiss in a music video, but once they announced they were actually in a relationship, the internet immediately started criticizing them.
But why was there a backlash to the lovebirds hard launching their relationship, and how did Kehlani and Kwn respond? Let us explain.
Who are Kehlani and Kwn?
Kehlani is an Oakland-raised singer-songwriter who is best known for blending R&B with pop, hip-hop, and rock. They started their career as a performer as a dancer, but when a knee injury ended those dreams, they turned to music. Kehlani first rose to fame competing on America’s Got Talent as part of the pop cover group Poplyfe before finding real success as a solo artist.
After identifying as pansexual and sexually fluid, the “After Hours” singer came out as a lesbian back in 2021. This isn’t the first time Kehlani has made headlines for a controversial relationship. They’ve had a long string of public relationships, including with 070 Shake, tattoo artist Shaina Negron, and former basketball star Kiara Russell. But it was their relationship with NBA star Kyrie Irving that ended with rumors that Kehlani had an affair with rapper PARTYNEXTDOOR, which caused them to take a break from social media after facing fan backlash and cyberbullying.
Kwn is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer who has described herself as being gay since birth. “I have literally been gay since I came out of the womb, so I’ve never looked for it. I would say I first knew I was gay when I watched Charlie’s Angels,” she told Dazed.
Kwn has racked up over 13 million combined streams on Spotify and YouTube, but hit it big after collabing with Kehlani on her song “worst behaviour,” which sapphics went wild for.
The hot and heavy music video
Kehlani and Kwn first sparked dating rumors after Kwn featured Kehlani in her song “worst behaviour.” In the steamy music video for the song, the two artists are seen making out against a car, and the kiss is so hot and spicy that it immediately led to fan speculation that the two had started dating.
TikTok announcements
On October 26, both celebs posted TikToks, hard launching their relationship and finally putting an end to the dating rumors that had been spreading for months.
Kehlani posted a video that showed her resting her head on Kwn’s shoulder while a song played with the lyrics, “You’re mine, you’re mine, you’re my baby.”
And Kwn posted a similar TikTok that featured her pointing at her new girlfriend while audio played that said, “Every day I get on this app, people flirting with my wife, people flirting with my wife! Good taste.”
Backlash/rumors of affairs
Despite fans chomping at the bit to find out if the two musicians were actually dating or just really good at faking chemistry onscreen, there was an almost instant backlash to the hard launch of their relationship.
Apparently, a lot of the hate the stars were getting stems from a belief that they’re relationship timeline suggests one or both of them cheated on other partners when they got together, though there is no evidence to support this theory.
Kehlani and Kwn’s reaction to the backlash
Both Kehlani and Kwn have subsequently deleted their hard-launch TikTok videos, and while Kehlani has yet to directly respond to the fan backlash, Kwn posted a 4-minute-long TikTok video reacting to rude comments their original videos garnered.
Kwn started the video, which was posted on October 27, by telling her followers that she “can’t just sit around and act like everything's okay when it’s not,” before revealing that the way fans have been responding isn't okay with her. “I know the internet is a dark place, but it’s dark over here…I’m not trying to build an audience with rude, weird, entitled people,” she said.
Kwn then pointed out just how horrible and disheartening the fan response has been. “Some of the comments you lot put under the video I’ve now deleted, it’s just horrible, it’s honestly disgusting. I don’t stand for it, one piece. Praying on people's downfall is crazy to me….It was never your business.”
It’s hard to know what this will mean for the future of their relationship, but it's likely they’ll be hesitant to share personal info with fans going forward.
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