Abigail Breslin got candid about releasing her breakup song about ex-boyfriend Michael Clifford.
The 27-year-old actress opened up about the backlash she faced after dropping her 2014 track “You Suck” about the 5 Seconds of Summer guitar player. “I released a really bad song a few years ago,” Breslin recalled during the Tuesday, January 2, episode of the “Vulnerable” podcast. “I was, like, 17 though, so cut me some slack.”
She went on to confirm that the song was about her ex Clifford, 28. “I had gotten what I felt to be ‘burned’ by him and I wrote a very bad song called ‘You Suck’ about him,” she recalled. “I did not realize that people would put two and two together so much. Didn’t realize that, like, the week before I released it, he was gonna become this huge boy band.”
“You Suck” bashed Clifford’s physical appearance and personality. In the song, Breslin sang, “I hate the scar above your eye / It looks like you’re on drugs,” “I’d rather date a rock,” “I just wanted you to know / All your bandmates are hotter than you,” “I hate your dumb tattoo” and more.
In response, Breslin faced “such hate online” from Clifford’s fans. “I was getting death threats sent about me, people were showing up outside of my apartment,” she said. “All this crazy, crazy s–t. … It was the most traumatizing experience.”
Clifford previously addressed the song while appearing on Nova FM’s Smallzy’s Surgery in 2014.
“A lot of people are getting involved,” he said, noting, “I haven’t spoken to [Abigail] in a year.”
The following year, he was asked about the song again during an episode of The Kyle and Jackie O Show but told fans it was time to “move on” from the drama.
“Guys, this is, like, a year and a half old,” he said while putting his hand over his face. “It’s just really awkward.”
Breslin said on Tuesday that it took her “a while to want to start doing music again” following the backlash.
Her next song came in 2017 when she starred as Baby in a Dirty Dancing remake. For the movie, she sang “Love Is Strange” with Colt Prattes and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” with Nicole Scherzinger.
Breslin currently performs under the name Sophomore and has released a number of songs, including “Sleepwalking” in 2018, “90’s Honey” in 2019 and a cover of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” in November 2023.
Before she began dabbling in the music industry, Breslin starred in a number of TV shows and movies, including Little Miss Sunshine, My Sister’s Keeper and more.
