Halsey Kept Things Real at the 9th Annual Blossom Ball

The singer-songwriter gave an impassioned speech about her experience with endometriosis to a large crowd that included her boyfriend, G-Eazy.

Halsey stole the show Monday evening at the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s Ninth Annual Blossom Ball. The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, wearing a white sheer J. Mendel dress, was the recipient of this year’s Blossom Award, which was awarded to Lena Dunham in 2017.

The 23-year-old took to the stage at Cipriani 42nd Street to accept her award and speak to guests about her struggles with endometriosis. The audience, which included her family and boyfriend G-Eazy, was visibly moved by her speech, which detailed how she came to be diagnosed and the frequent side effects she endures due to the disease.The star first publicly spoke about the dismantling disease in 2016 on Twitter, telling her young fans they were not alone and to demand better health care.

“I have the privilege of getting to meet a lot of young fans on the road and many of them have told me that without that tweet they wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to talk to their doctors and physicians and say ‘Hey, something’s not right,’” she said. “A lot of people are taught to believe the pain is normal. If you think something is wrong, it probably is. You need to go and demand that someone takes you seriously. Your health is all you have, and especially as a young woman who has reproductive pain, you need to take care of yourself.”

Halsey finds the support from her peers, including those who also suffer from endometriosis, to be an immediate bonding experience. “You really admire them for how strong they are and all that they have achieved,” she said.

The foundation was started by Dr. Tamer Seckin and Padma Lakshmi, another woman who struggles with endometriosis. The annual ball is the foundation’s largest fund-raiser and aims to aid and empower women across the nation, from educating school teachers to funding research. The disease is the only known precursor to ovarian cancer and affects 200 million women worldwide. Early intervention timed with early diagnosis is the most critical part of treating the disease which “can really rip women’s lives apart,” said Dr. Seckin.

He shared that people are much more aware of the disease than in years past, thanks to women being vocal—especially women with influence. Dr. Seckin said: “Lena really brought another dimension. Every celebrity brings their own dimension; Padma started it, Lena took it in her own voice, and Halsey does the same. I feel very lucky and happy to have them supporting us. We’re all in this together.”

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