SZA Defends Alessia Cara After GRAMMY Backlash, Says She Was 'Mad As Hell' For Not Winning an Award

Many targeted Alessia Cara when she took home the Best New Artist win at the 2018 GRAMMYs, beating out fellow newcomers SZAKhalid, Julia Michaels and Lil Uzi Vert. SZA, who was the leading lady of the night with five nominations, was thought to take home the award.

But after Alessia's win, angry and disappointed fans quickly shunned her—and she noticed. "I’m aware that my music wasn’t released yesterday, I’m aware that, yes, my music has become fairly popular in the last year, she said in a lengthy Instagram post. "But I’m trying very hard to use the platform I’ve been given to talk about these things and bring light to issues that aren’t fair, all while trying to make the most of the weird, amazing success I’ve been lucky enough to have." Yet SZA herself isn't upset about the loss anymore and is graciously coming forth to defend the singer. "You know, I never looked at the Internet [after the Grammys]. I never looked at anything anyone ever said after that online—not once," SZA said in a new GQ interview.

"The only time I ever heard about it was in person, when someone walked up to me and was like, “You were robbed” or whatever the fuck. I was like, 'I feel you.' My home girl actually showed me Alessia [Cara]’s post and I thought, This is really crazy."