Fifth Harmony may be a quartet now, but they are refusing to plead the fifth.
The popular girl group is speaking out on Camila Cabello’s exit.
“We know you are hurt and confused, we are too,” the group said in an open letter to their fans, which they posted on social media. “We know you want answers. And you deserve them, as you are just as much a part of this group as the four of us are.”
The group went on to try to explain what led to Cabello splitting from the group.
“We have spent the past year and a half (since her initial solo endeavor) trying to communicate to her and her team all of the reasons why we felt Fifth Harmony deserved at least one more album of her time,” their statement said. “In mid November we were informed via her manager that Camila was leaving the group. At the time we were informed that December 18th would be her final performance with Fifth Harmony. We were truly hurt.”
It was announced publicly on Monday that Cabello had left the group.
“After 4 and a half years of being together, we have been informed via her representatives that Camila has decided to leave Fifth Harmony,” they said in a statement then. “We wish her well.”
The group formed in 2012 after finishing in third place on the American version of “The X Factor.”
They have released two albums and won several accolades, including Artist to Watch at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2014 and Collaboration of the Year at the 2016 American Music Awards for their single “Work From Home” with Ty Dolla $ign.
The four remaining members — Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane Hansen, Lauren Jauregui and Normani Kordei — said they will continue as a group.
“We are four strong, committed women who will continue with Fifth Harmony as well as our solo endeavors,” they said in their statement. “Harmonizers, we are in this together.”
On Monday afternoon, Cabello released a statement via social media saying she was “shocked to read the Fifth Harmony account posted without my knowing.”
“Saying that they were just informed through my representative that I was ‘leaving the group’ is simply not true,” she said. “Just like the other girls said in their statement about their plans, I had also planned to continue with my own solo endeavors in the new year, but I did not intend to end things with Fifth Harmony this way…”
Cabello appears on Machine Gun Kelly’s song, “Bad Things,” which has gone gold.