Demi Lovato Comes to Halsey’s Defense After Armpit Hair on Rolling Stone Cover Grosses Trolls Out

Around the age of thirteen, humans go through a process called “puberty” during which they develop what are called “secondary sex characteristics.” For cis women, this means breasts and hips. Humans also grow hair in places like their jaws, chests, underarms, and pubic areas. It is science and it is normal and women have armpit hair—can everyone please get that through their heads?

The pop star Halsey is on the cover of the Hot Issue of Rolling Stone looking defiant and badass, her arms raised to reveal a hint of stubble in her armpits (natural!). Needless to say, Instagram just had to weigh in. @danimarie1121 commented, “The hairy armpits are a bit much. But your still gorgeous!!” while @abbiescroggy asked, “Why are girls not shaving their pits? I’m confused.” @mashael_s_al went so far as to recommend a remedy, writing “Underarm wax needed!”

In the sage words of Taylor Swift, “And I’m like, I just—I mean, this is exhausting, you know?”

Women. Have. Armpit. Hair. And even if you shave it or wax it, it grows back, and it’s actually impossible to wax/shave when it’s just stubble, so unless you laser it off, there will always be a few days between shaves when a woman has a not-perfectly-smooth underarm. This harms absolutely no one. To quote Taylor again, “you need to calm down.”

What a woman decides to do or not do about her body hair is her decision and her decision only, and it’s frankly ridiculous that people still give a fart about a little stubble in this, the year of our lord two thousand and nineteen, a full twenty years after Julia Roberts revealed a slightly hirsute underarm at the Notting Hill premiere. This battle is so boring. It is quite literally the pits.

Thankfully, the majority of the comments on the picture are positive, with many praising Rolling Stone‘s decision not to Photoshop away Halsey’s hair. @maryykatherinee_ wrote, “Is anyone else enjoying the fact that her armpits aren’t photoshopped to look poreless?.. these are what armpits look like in real life, lol someone finally did it.” And celebrity friends like Demi Lovato are into it too; Lovato commented, “There so much yes about this picture idk where to start.”

Let’s start with…all of it!

Related: BTS Is Teaming Up with Halsey for a Major Collaboration on Their Hotly Anticipated New Album