Punk rock musician YUNGBLUD cares very deeply about his fans, but he’s still not afraid to tell some of them to fuck off.
His fans call themselves the Black Hearts Club, or BHC for short. Born Dominic Harrison, often shortened to “Dom” by friends and fans, YUNGBLUD has expressed several times that his fans have saved his life. Many of his fans, or members of the BHC, echo the same sentiment about him and his music.
“BHC for life!” is a phrase you’ll often find Dom shouting in his Instagram stories.
Speaking of shouting, YUNGBLUD isn’t exactly the quiet type. And if you do try to silence him? As he told a reporter for Evening Standard magazine,
“If you try and put a dog collar on me, I’m going to bite ya.”
In both lyrics and interviews, YUNGBLUD loudly and vehemently promotes being true to yourself and embracing who you are unapologetically.
One of YUNGBLUD’s most emotional songs, “mars,” was written about a transgender fan Dom spoke to after one of his concerts. He listened to this fan talk about how their parents finally accepted them for who they are, and much of that acceptance was thanks to YUNGBLUD.
By witnessing the community that has rallied around YUNGBLUD, with their pure acceptance of many forms of self-expression that are often ostracized by many in the mainstream, this fan’s parents realized that their child could be accepted for who they are in the world, and in turn, they were able to accept them as well.
Despite being an extremely vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, YUNGBLUD’s intentions towards the community were questioned by some fans after he used the hashtag #transwizardlivesmatter on his Twitter account in 2020.
It was Dom’s 23rd birthday and he wanted to check in with his fans, countless of whom had wished him a happy birthday on his social media accounts. Dom posted a photo to his Instagram account of himself dressed up as Harry Potter.
“Ive been at hogwarts all day. shame jk fuckin sucks,” the main text under the photo read, followed by the aforementioned controversial hashtag.
Despite his altruistic intentions, several fans were quick to attack Dom on Twitter, letting him know that they found the hashtag he used offensive and hurtful.
YUNGBLUD was quick to edit the post to read #translivesmatter to erase any sort of ambiguity contained in the message. He followed up with a few posts clarifying the original hashtag he used.
“every single part of my being is to make people feel validated for exactly who they are. to feel safe strong and proud to breath in their own skin,”
Dom shared via Twitter. “regarding my # it wasn’t meant to be insensitive,” he continued. “i only meant to uplift and spread love because i am appalled by what jk has said. i stand with the trans community with all my being. im with you and i will fight with you fucking every day.”
The next day, he posted one more tweet regarding the situation, this time directly referring to the comments Harry Potter author JK Rowling has made about the transgender community:
“transgender people belong in the wizarding world no matter how ignorant the writer may be. you are real. you are heard. i will be by your side fighting with you every fuckin day. that was all i was saying. if anyone felt hurt i apologise. i love u.”
Alright, so Dom didn’t exactly tell his fans to fuck off in that last incident. But that was a year ago, and YUNGBLUD only just began his career in 2019. Since then, his fanbase has grown rapidly, and surely, along with it, the amount of criticism he’s received.
It’s now 2021, and this is what Dom had to tell Kerrang! about the latest YUNGBLUD single: “This song is a kick back; a kick back against the world, a kick back against my friends, against my family and some of my fanbase.”
The song’s lyrics certainly seem fitting for this sentiment.
“I’m not your monkey, I’m not your puppy. I’m just a fleabag,”
YUNGBLUD belts in the chorus of his Nirvana-inspired single.
Here, Dom welcomes his audience to think he’s less than dirt, because he will never change or question who he is solely because of their opinion.
“No matter what I do, you twist my words and get confused,” he sings in the verse, referring to misinterpretations of his well-intentioned words, like the aforementioned #transwizardlivesmatter controversy.
YUNGBLUD elaborated on the idea of his new song Fleabag being “a kick back,” saying,
“I believe to my core . . . that self-expression and the right to be unconditionally yourself is the best thing you can be. Nobody should determine how you express yourself except you. You are brilliant, you are beautiful, you are individual just by breathing.”
Dom directs this message towards his fanbase, but he goes on to reflect on the song’s more personal meaning:
“I am who I am, all I want to do is spread love and lead with my heart. I’ve always told people to be themselves, sometimes I have to remember that message myself.”
The struggles that YUNGBLUD has conveyed through his lyrics are ultimately what has connected him with his fans on such a deep level. Unfortunately, this depth of connection also puts Dom on a pedestal, with millions watching his every move, ready to call him out for any perceived semblance of impoliteness.
But YUNGBLUD will always be YUNGBLUD, no matter who tries to tear him down or change him.