Ally Brooke is keeping hope alive for faithful Fifth Harmony fans. Last November, Brooke engaged in the possibility of a reunion with a playful TikTok. More recently, this June, Brooke teased one during a visit with 1o3.5 KTU. Even more recently, Brooke tugged at Harmonizers’ heartstrings.
On Wednesday, October 4, video from Brooke’s recent appearance on E! News caught fire online. In the clip, Brooke was asked about the recent NSYNC reunion, which predictably led into prodding about whether there’s a future for Fifth Harmony.
“I do feel like, in the future, we’ll get all the girls together,” the host said. Brooke responded, “A hundred percent. We may be working on something.” When pressed on whether fans could get something new from Fifth Harmony “sooner than we think,” Brooke nodded and confirmed, “Yes.”
Ally Brooke confirmed a Fifth Harmony project/reunion is coming very soon!
– Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Normani, Dinah Jane, and Ally Brooke
— popicons (@iconpopnews) October 4, 2023
However, later Wednesday, Brooke threw a wet blanket on the reignited rumor mill.
“I’m thrilled to see there’s a lot of interest surrounding Fifth Harmony,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Reunion has many meanings and while there’s no official band reunion happening at the moment, some beautiful friendships and relationships are slowly reuniting in a healing and empowering way. XX Ally.”
I’m thrilled to see there’s a lot of interest surrounding Fifth Harmony.
Reunion has many meanings and while there’s no official band reunion happening at the moment, some beautiful friendships and relationships are slowly reuniting in a healing and empowering way.
XX
Ally— Ally Brooke (@AllyBrooke) October 5, 2023
As chronicled by Billboard, Fifth Harmony formed in early 2013 and quickly became a prominent pop force. The group was comprised of Brooke, Camila Cabello, Dinah Jane, Normani, and Lauren Jauregui. Cabello suddenly departed in December 2016, and the remaining four members of Fifth Harmony announced an indefinite hiatus in early 2018.
There’s no way of knowing what Brooke was referencing in her post about healing, but it is worth mentioning that, in December 2019, past Tumblr posts in which Cabello used the N-word and other racially derogatory language resurfaced, (obviously) warranting a public apology from Cabello. In February 2020, Normani — the only Black woman in Fifth Harmony — reacted to Cabello’s past posts in a written response to Rolling Stone, which can be read in full below:
“I want to be very clear about what I’m going to say on this uncomfortable subject and figured it would be best to write out my thoughts to avoid being misconstrued, as I have been in the past. I struggled with talking about this because I didn’t want it to be a part of my narrative, but I am a Black woman, who is a part of an entire generation that has a similar story.
I face senseless attacks daily, as does the rest of my community. This represents a day in the life for us. I have been tolerating discrimination far before I could even comprehend what exactly was happening. Direct and subliminal hatred has been geared towards me for many years solely because of the color of my skin. It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn’t hurt me. It was devastating that this came from a place that was supposed to be a safe haven and a sisterhood, because I knew that if the tables were turned I would defend each of them in a single heartbeat. It took days for her to acknowledge what I was dealing with online and then years for her to take responsibility for the offensive tweets that recently resurfaced. Whether or not it was her intention, this made me feel like I was second to the relationship that she had with her fans.
“I don’t want to say that this situation leaves me hopeless because I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for personal growth. I really hope that an important lesson was learned in this. I hope there is genuine understanding about why this was absolutely unacceptable. I have spoken what is in my heart and pray this is transparent enough that I never have to speak on it again. To my brown men and women, we are like no other. Our power lies within our culture. We are descendants of an endless line of strong and resilient kings and queens. We have been and will continue to win in all that we do simply because of who we are. We deserve to be celebrated, I deserve to be celebrated and I’m just getting started.”
In April 2022, Cabello hinted to Reuters that her relationship with her former bandmates was on the mend, saying, “We have been supportive of each other through, like, DMs and stuff. I’m, like, in a in a really good place with them.”