Jade Thirlwall reveals Little Mix were ‘f****d over’ when they split from Simon Cowell

Jade Thirlwall has revealed Little Mix leaving Simon Cowell’s Syco record label ‘f****d over’ the group.

The quartet wanted to encourage female empowerment through their music but felt they were prevented from doing so under their previous label with former boss Simon. 

The group switched from Syco to RCA during the recording of their fifth album LM5 following a reported falling out with Simon. 

Speaking to The Sun, Jade said: ‘We did a little bit but we had a switch of labels during the LM5 process and that really f***ed us over. It was harder to put all our creativity out there in the way we would have liked.

‘The LM5 album was very heavily on women’s rights and our experiences in the industry. We’re sort of cruising at the moment. That period in our careers was quite troublesome.

Jade said the group have learned to stick to their laurels since their earlier days in the industry and are currently working on their next album. 

She said: ‘I feel like now we’re in a good place — we’re with RCA and we’re working on a new record, which is really exciting. We’ve learnt to really stick to our guns and do what we believe in.’

Little Mix, also made up of Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, told how they have previously stood up to powerful men in the industry. 

Leigh-Anne told the Daily Star: ‘We were as ballsy as we could be with this album. We still face sexism in the industry. We’ve been told what we should and shouldn’t do.

‘There are still not enough powerful women in the industry compared to men and that needs to change.

‘We’ve had our fair share of arguments with powerful men over what we want to do and how things should be done.’

The singer added the group are in the driver’s seat more than ever because they speak up for themselves and make sure their opinions are heard.

Jade was anorexic for most of her teenage years, from 13 until 18 years old, and only recovered because of the support of her fellow Little Mix group members.

She told The Guardian: ‘People think that girl band members are competitive, but my saving grace was being put in a group where we supported each other and gave each other confidence boosts.’

The girl-band was formed in 2011 after they each auditioned for The X Factor as solo singers.

Their first album DNA peaked inside the top 10 in ten countries including the UK and US, and the four women quickly soared to international fame.