Music

The ‘Daily Mail’ Melts Down Because Killing Heidi’s Ella Hooper Doesn’t Have Dreadlocks Anymore

Do we need to explain time to the Daily Mail?

by Jared Richards  20 August 2019

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While the Daily Mail‘s grasp on grammar and, uh, general journalistic decency is shaky at best and dangerous at worst, it seems the tabloid has now lost its conception of how time works. Yesterday, they wrote up a 600 word article on how Killing Heidi front-woman Ella Hooper looks different from 20 years ago.

As pointed out on Twitter by News Corp music writer Cameron Adams, Daily Mail Australia has published a story about “what the lead singer from Killing Heidi looks like now” after she appeared on Channel 9’s Today Extra mid-morning show. “Ella Hooper is almost recognisable in a rare TV interview without her signature dreadlocks and heavy make-up,” the headline promised.

“Known for her heavy makeup, bold stage outfits and signature dreadlocks, Ella Hooper has since left behind her late ’90s punk aesthetic,” the article reads. “During a rare TV interview on Monday, Ella looked positively demure in a red cardigan alongside her brother and bandmate Jesse Hooper. “

There’s, uh, a few issues here. Firstly, Hooper hasn’t rocked her ‘signature’ look since the mid-00s — unsurprising, since the look itself is very of its time. Secondly, Hooper is far from media-shy. Since Killing Heidi first split in 2006 (before reforming in 2016), Hooper has regularly appeared on Australian TV — including on Spicks & Specks, where she was first a regular guest, then a team captain on the show’s 2014 re-boot.

“Ella Hooper doesn’t wear her clothes from 1999 as she DARINGLY makes appearance OUTSIDE looking POSITIVELY DEMURE, NOT ALL LIKE SHE DID WHEN SHE WAS 16.”

And as the Daily Mail themselves point out, Hooper was even on our TVs earlier this year. In February, she competed in SBS’s pre-Eurovision event to see who would represent Australia.

Finally, Killing Heidi were on Today Extra to promote their upcoming national tour which celebrates the 20 year anniversary of their debut album, Reflector. It’s almost as if people …change in two decades.

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17 Years On, Killing Heidi Take A Loving Look Back At 'Reflector'

The latent sexism in being surprised that women look different at 36 as opposed to 16 isn’t even the worst bit, though; it’s the Daily Mail‘s lack of basic research on Hooper. It’s a blatant use of Hooper’s looks for clicks, rather than any genuine interest in her music or work, to the point where the article has barely any grounding in fact.

The whole thing is summed up best by Hooper herself, who responded to Adams’ tweet with one word, ‘yawn’.