Charli XCX has addressed criticism online following her headline set on Glastonbury’s Other Stage on Saturday night, after some viewers accused the singer of miming.
The singer, 32, drew one of the biggest crowds of the day and delivered an energetic performance, commanding the audience with her signature brat-pop sound and choreography.
While many festival-goers at Worthy Farm appeared to lap up the theatrics, some viewers watching the BBC’s live broadcast accused the singer of miming and heavy auto-tune.
“Charli XCX is bloody dreadful,” one viewer wrote on X. “Could literally be any random person miming. WTF for a Glastonbury Saturday night, disappointing.”
Another posted: “Charli xcx embarrassing that, turning up to walk around stage pretending to sing…”
A third viewer added: “What part of Charli XCX is ‘live music’? Get her off that stage ffs.”
Others were more generous, with fans describing the performance as “iconic” and “bloody amazing”.
“Charli xcx is taking over Glasto,” one wrote. “She’s killing it.”
In response the initial criticism, Charli took to X (formerly Twitter) to expertly clap back at the “boomer vibe comments”.
She wrote: “Like the idea that singing with deliberate autotune makes you a fraud or that not having a traditional band suddenly means you must not be a 'real artist' is like, the most boring take ever. yawn sorry just fell asleep xx
“But to be honest… I enjoy the discourse. imo the best art is divisive and confrontational and often evolves into truly interesting culture rather than being like kind of ok, easily understood and sort of forgettable.”
She added: “Really enjoying these boomer vibe comments on my Glastonbury performance. It's super fascinating to me,' before thanking those who gave her five star reviews.
really enjoying these boomer vibe comments on my glastonbury performance. it’s super fascinating to me.
— Charli (@charli_xcx) June 29, 2025
The set comes at the peak of Charli’s “Brat” era, following the huge success of her chart-topping sixth album, which has been widely praised for its raw lyrics, club-ready beats and unapologetic attitude.
The record debuted at number one in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and number three in the US - making it the most commercially successful release of her career so far.
During Saturday’s set, Charli performed fan favourites including 360, Vroom Vroom, Boys, and Speed Drive, which featured on the Barbie soundtrack.
Ahead of her performance, she was spotted backstage with friend Denise Welch - the Loose Women star and mother of The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.
