Jameela Jamil has been forced to defend her music production skills.
After receiving criticism on social media for her producing credit on her boyfriend James Blake’s new album, Friends That Break Your Heart, The Good Place star has opened up about her experience in the music industry.
"A lot of mostly women insisting I couldn't possibly have actually worked on my boyfriend's music, and that he must have just credited me to be nice… I was a DJ for 8 years, and studied music for 6 years before that," the 35-year-old tweeted on Sunday. "You are part of the problem of why women don't pursue producing."
This is not the first time that the actress has been credited on one of her partner's projects.
Blake, 33, released his fourth studio album, Assume Form, in 2019. Jamil produced several tracks on the album, which was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. On Instagram, she claimed that Blake, who she has been dating since 2015, had to convince her to add her producing credit since she was already “so preemptively sick of the Internet”.
"In the end, I took the credit I deserved because of how important it is for women who work on music to visibly exist in the space of music production, and because I would want any of you who follow me to take ownership of what is rightfully your achievements," Jamil explained, adding that she hopes other producers are taking credit for their work.
The She-Hulk star concluded by reminding her three million followers that “we’re all in this s**t together” and encouraged others to “carry on”.
Fellow celebs congratulated Jamil in the comments, with comedian Chelsea Handler writing, “Women are smarter, more resourceful, and have had to deal with forced humility. We're done with all that."
While Questlove insisted that she should “Take all of the credit” for her work and Natasha Bedingfield commented: "Glad u have a guy who is making sure you get the respect you deserve x great record."
