Chl?e Bailey responds to criticism of her sexy new ‘Have Mercy’ video: ‘It’s my body, and I’m so proud of it’

Chlo?e Bailey wants people to stop questioning what she does with her body.

The 23-year-old songstress recently addressed controversy surrounding her music video for her new song "Have Mercy," which premiered last week. Bailey, who shot to fame at a young age thanks to Beyoncé, features Bailey's sexier side and in a recent Instagram Q&A session with fans, Bailey was asked: “Why are you showing so much skin?”

“Because I can. It’s my body, and I’m so proud of it, and I hope you’re proud of yours too,” she responded.

On Friday, Bailey sat down with MTV to talk the criticism she has received for people who have a problem with her new video that showed her wearing more revealing outfits, including a pink number in which her butt cheeks were hard to miss.

“Men can glorify a** in their videos, I want to do it with this in a really artful, fun, beautiful way," she explained. "And I think it’s so great how women can claim their ownership of their bodies and not let the world do it. We get to do it in the way that we want to, and it was really fun! I felt really pretty on the shoot days, and I look back, and I’m like, ‘that’s not the same person right here,’ but it was fun in the moment.”

Bailey, who has previously performed with her sister Halle Bailey as part of the duo Chlo? x Halle, made her solo debut on Sunday at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards performing her new single to rave reviews from celebrities and fans alike.

"I wanna be Chloe Bailey when I grow up," Simone Biles tweeted.

"You ate that up Chloe Bailey shessshhhh," City Girl rapper Yung Miami praised.

This is far from the first time that Chlo? has had to address critics who have a problem with her owning her sexuality. In February she faced backlash for her social media posts. In an emotional Instagram Live, she became tearful as she admitted she was hurt by the criticism.

"It’s really hard for me to think of myself as a sexual being or an attractive being quite frankly," she said. "So, when I see all the uproar about my posts and stuff, I’m a bit confused. Like, I really don’t understand because I’ve never seen myself in that way or in that light. So I take it as a huge compliment that you all see me as a sexual, sexy being. I don't post what I post to get attention. I don't need that."

She added an important message to other women in a society where they seem to be shamed for being themselves: "For every woman out there, don’t change who you are to make society feel comfortable."