Jessie J has reflected on the emotional moment she and the Princess of Wales shared a hug at the Royal Variety Performance.
The Princess and Prince of Wales met the singer backstage after her performance of I’ll Never Know Why at the Royal Albert Hall, a song written in tribute to a friend who died by suicide.
Following their conversation, Jessie and the Princess embraced. It was a powerful exchange between two women navigating their own cancer experiences.
The Price Tag star Jessie underwent breast cancer surgery in June and later revealed she needed a second operation, leading her to postpone her autumn tour.
The Princess of Wales revealed in January she is in remission from cancer.
Speaking at the Rolling Stone UK Awards at Camden’s Roundhouse, the 37-year-old, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, told The Standard: “It was lovely, honestly.It wasn't a moment that I even thought that people would even see. I was with her in that moment.
“It was lovely to have a second to just, honestly give another mama a hug, and say I see you.”
She said the interaction felt deeply personal. “I think the whole feeling for me was obviously personal. I felt that I was Jessica. I wasn't Jessie J.
“I was just purely there to, like, represent the people that feel lost and lonely and scared and that's why I wore the sweatsuit, the sweats to represent the people that are on the sofa feeling scared and alone and depressed and and it's so beautiful what they're doing.”
She praised the Princess of Wales for speaking openly about mental health and the realities facing women.
“Kate and women just how they’re actually speaking up for people that feel suicidal and alone,” she said.
“And obviously, mum to mum, breast cancer, in the public eye, I wanted to acknowledge that.”
Looking ahead, Jessie said she and the Princess plan to collaborate.
“We spoke about it last night,” she said. “I think that the most important thing is to just keep talking about suicide and making sure that it’s not something that people… The one thing I said yesterday, I said it today and it’s really struck with me is ‘I don’t want people to feel alone’.”
The Princess of Wales announced her own cancer diagnosis in early 2024 and confirmed she was in remission in January.
