Nelly Furtado has revealed that she will no longer perform live for the “foreseeable future” after online critics body-shamed her for her appearance onstage.
“I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavors that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life,” Furtado wrote in an Instagram post marking the 25th anniversary of her debut albumWhoa, Nelly!
Sharing a photo of herself in 2000 alongside a recent video of her bowing to fans in Germany, Furtado, now46,was a 20-year-old “about to play my first show as a professional artist at Lilith Fair.”
“Iwent down to a store called ‘Original’ on Queen West in Toronto and shopped for that pink dress and some sparkly platform shoes to perform in. It was so meaningful and my artist self felt so actualized,” the Grammy-winner wrote.
Now, a quarter of a century later,her “music has reached a whole new generation of fans and I couldn’t be happier about that.”
“In the year 2000 I remember feeling purpose in hoping some kid would dust off theWhoa, Nelly!vinyl one day in a record shop and think it was cool or inspiring, so I never could have guessed that there would be so many new ways to discover ‘old’ music in 2025!” thePromiscuoussinger continued.
“To have so many people rediscovering my music has been surreal and joyful. It’s been so fun embracing this opportunity, getting out on stages again and seeing up close, the true lasting power of good music. It’s made me really believe in magic,” the B.C. native added.
The mother of three went on to tell her fans that as she reflected on the milestone, she has decided to step away from performing live.
“All this aside, I have decided to step away from performance for the foreseeable future and pursue some other creative and personal endeavors that I feel would better suit this next phase of my life,” she wrote. “I have enjoyed my career immensely, and I still love writing music as I have always seen it as a hobby I was lucky enough to make into a career. I’ll identify as a songwriter forever.”
During concerts this year, online critics scrutinized Furtado’s appearance onstage prompting the singer to wear anoversized T-shirt with a woman’s skinny silhouette printed on the front during an August concert in Manchester.
Influencer Oli London said theI’m Like a Birdsongstress appeared “unrecognizable as she perform(ed) onstage.”
Nelly Furtado appears unrecognizable as she performs on stage.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV)September 8, 2025
The ‘Maneater’ singer addressed her new body shape earlier this year saying:
“This year I became aware of the aesthetic pressure of my work in a brand new way, while simultaneously I experienced new levels of…pic.twitter.com/g1fgYdn5vj
But on TikTok, Furtado’s fans praised her for sticking up for herself.
“Beautiful Queen ..so sick of the weight shaming lately ..she’s happy in her own body that’s what matters,”one person wrote, while anotheradded, “I admire her so much in just being herself and doing her thing against the torrent of abuse she gets for having a normal body.”
‘Celebrate your individuality’
In January, Furtado ushered in the New Year by wearing anorange bikini. “HAVE A BODY NEUTRAL 2025,” she captioned a Jan. 5 Instagram post. “BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, LOVE WITH EVERY INCH OF YOUR HEART.”
She also encouraged her fans to “celebrate your individuality and know that it’s perfectly OK to be OK with what you see in the mirror, and it’s also OK to want something different. We are all cute little humans just bouncing around the earth looking for hugs.”
Furtado also said that she was aware of conversations about her appearance, but was comfortable with her looks.
“This year I became aware of the aesthetic pressure of my work in a brand-new way, while at the same time, I experienced new levels of self-love and genuine confidence from within,” she wrote.
The 10-time Juno winner also shut down speculation that she has undergone plastic surgery in a bid to remain youthful.
“I have never had any face or body surgeries or augmentation,” she wrote. “I have a loving, old-school facialist who I purchase serums and creams from and I started that when I was 20. The day before photo shoots and red carpets, I drink a lot of water and sleep on my back.”
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