Halsey Reveals That She Almost Resorted To Sex Work As A Homeless Teenager

While giving a speech at the Ending Youth Homelessness: A Benefit For My Friend’s Place event in Los Angeles on Saturday, singer Halsey opened up about her personal struggles with homelessness as a teenager and even revealed that she contemplated sex work in order to make ends meet.

“When I was living in New York, I was a teenager. My friends were picking out decorations for their dorms, and I was debating on whether or not I should let a stranger inside of me so I could pay for my next meal,” Halsey said, E! Onlinereports.

“It wasn’t because I did something bad,” she added. “It wasn’t because something was wrong with me, and it wasn’t because my parents didn’t love me—because they did very much. But a series of unfortunate circumstances led me to be in that position, and it can happen to absolutely anyone.”

Halsey also went on to detail the moment she met with Capitol Music Group’s Jeremy Vuernick, carrying a grey duffle bag that doubled as her “house” at the time.

“When I met him, I had crazy hair, I had one demo in my pocket and I was carrying a gray duffel bag,” she said. “Sat down in his office, at his cubicle, and he asked me, ‘What’s in the bag?’ I looked him dead in the eyes and I said, ‘This is my house.'”

“I need you guys to realize that and while it’s very exiting that I am a record-selling, show-playing pop star, when I tell people that story, they go, ‘Oh my gosh, you went from being homeless to being a pop star, that’s amazing, we should help these people because we don’t know what they could become.'” To that theory, Halsey added. “Wrong. We shouldn’t help we think because there’s a chance that they could turn into a celebrity. We shouldn’t help because they could really make something of themselves—because they are something right now.”