Hayley Williams has denied claims that the Nashville salon she helped start, Fruits Hair Lab, is a toxic place to work.
The drama unfolded in the comments of an Instagram post by Good Dye Young, another one of her ventures. The post was about Williams’ views on mental health for World Mental Health Day, sharing her own struggles and the need for better support.
People who said they used to work at Fruits Hair Lab chimed in on the post, saying it was tough working there and their concerns were ignored. This sparked a lot of chatter on social media platforms like Twitter and Stereogum.
Williams responded, explaining that although she’s a co-founder of the salon, she isn’t in charge and doesn’t hold any official position. She mentioned that a manager handles daily operations and noted some staff had left but didn’t believe their claims about the work environment.
“When this group of Fruits employees chose to leave, the remaining team of stylists reported that the environment in the salon became immediately more positive and less toxic,” she wrote. “Do with that what you will.”
We think it’s always tricky when there’s public drama about work issues.
She also stated that there are false statements being spread about both Good Dye Young and Fruits, implying there’s more to the story than she wishes to discuss online.
Moreover, Williams refuted the idea that comments from former employees were being erased from the post. Addressing the criticism of her message being “performative,” she revealed that Good Dye Young and Fruits staff were recently informed their health insurance would soon cover unlimited mental health services.
“If keeping that private was performative, well then fuck me I guess,” Williams wrote.
