Halsey Gets a Tumblr Notes Apology After Being Snubbed in Anniversary Tribute

Tumblr was feeling nostalgic on its 19th birthday. On Friday, Feb. 27, the platform shared a video on X celebrating two decades of cultural influence. The montage featured iconic moments and a remix of The Chainsmokers’ 2015 hit “Roses,” with “it’s our 19th birthday <3” written over it.

But fans immediately noticed someone important was missing: Halsey.

The post included artists like Sky Ferreira, Lorde, One Direction, Lana Del Rey, MARINA, Charli XCX, Arctic Monkeys, and The 1975, but skipped Halsey.

“The damn disrespect on the queen of tumblr @halsey,” one user wrote. Another added, “where is halsey? be fr she was the owner of tumblr girls in 2015.”

Even Halsey joined the conversation, joking on X Sunday, March 1, “I keep your lights on for years and this is the thanks I get?”

Tumblr didn’t waste any time fixing things. On Monday, March 2, they shared a notes app apology on X:

“please accept our notes app apology @halsey,” Tumblr wrote.

“Halsey, we are deeply sorry you were not included in our 19th birthday edit. You are and have forever been a pillar of our platform and yes for lack of better words ‘keeping our lights on for years.’”

They continued, “we would never, as you once put it, intentionally swerve you.”

“at just 19, we’re still learning and growing. we promise this will never happen again. we hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us. with love, tumblr.”

Tumblr also followed up with a video montage of Halsey during her Badlands era, set to the album’s hit song “Colors.”

Long before her music fame, Halsey built a following on Tumblr under the username se7enteenblack, posting poetry and early song lyrics that would become part of her debut album, Badlands, released in 2015.

The album and Halsey’s pastel, dark aesthetic quickly dominated Tumblr in the 2010s. Speaking to Triple J in July 2024, she reflected on the platform’s importance:

“There’s so many reasons I love Tumblr. One is because I really got my start there as an artist and I just, I’m not good at the other ones… but Tumblr, that was for me,” she said.

“You could be really sad one second, and then you can switch over and just be like absolutely ridiculous. You could be posting memes and then you can get really serious… All those elements of your personality are canonically you, [and people] are just okay with it.”

“If you switch vibes too fast on another platform, everyone’s like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’” she added.

Halsey now runs a blog called Tiredandlonelymuse, created in December 2022 during treatment for Lupus SLE and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.

“I came back to Tumblr when it all went down, because I think something special happens here,” she said in June 2024. “This is the quiet space in between screaming observation and lethargic loneliness. It’s shared solitude. The platform gave me everything once upon a time, so many years ago. It felt right to return in my weakest moment.”

Tumblr’s birthday mistake may have stung at first, but the platform made sure to shine a little extra light on Halsey, proving some connections never fade.