Halsey feels ''proud'' of her brother's efforts in anti-racism protests.

The 25-year-old star has taken to Instagram to hail her younger brother Sevian, and to insist that now is the time to engage with the black community about possible routes forward.

Alongside a photograph of herself and Sevian, Halsey wrote: ''just want to take a minute to say how proud I am of my little brother @sevianfrangipane for finding his voice and being out protesting every single day. keep your family close right now if you're lucky enough to have them to rely on.

''if you are NON-BLACK and: married to a black person, the parent of a black child, or the child of a black parent, or any other interfamilial relationship with a black person, then this is a time to let them talk when they feel like talking. listen and listen with love. Don't assume they aren't upset because they haven't expressed issues or traumas in the past.

''A lot of repressed feelings and memories may be uncovered right now. Receive it with grace empathy and promise to learn or change where need be. (sic)''

Meanwhile, Halsey recently hit back at criticism for not ''claiming her black side''.

The singer has been taking part in protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, but was subjected to a backlash over the language she uses about the subject, despite being biracial.

A Twitter user wrote in a now-deleted post: ''Notice how @Halsey never claims her black side, but she 'supports.' Stop being ignorant. She's never claimed her Black side. This is why I will NEVER support her. On her post she says 'let black ppl speak,' not 'let our ppl speak.' Nah, f**k her (sic)''

In response, the 'Without Me' hitmaker explained she feels she's ''white passing'' and though she is ''in pain'', she doesn't think it's her ''place'' to use the word 'we'.

She wrote: ''im white passing. it's not my place to say 'we.' it's my place to help. i am in pain for my family, but nobody is gonna kill me based on my skin color.

'''I've always been proud of who I am but it'd be an absolute disservice to say 'we' when I'm not susceptible to the same violence. (sic)''