GIRLI COLLABS WITH CHEER UP LUV WITH SLAP ON THE WRIST AND THE POWER OF SPEAKING OUT
Talking to GIRLI about Slap On The Wrist feels less like an interview and more like stepping into the middle of a long‑overdue conversation. The song didn’t come from a single moment of outrage, she explains, but from “decades of pent‑up rage”, a lifetime of navigating the everyday fear and normalised violence that women and gender minorities live with. She hadn’t written an explicitly feminist protest track since her single Hot Mess, and with misogyny flaring up everywhere in places like the media, in politics, and across online spaces, it felt to GIRLI like the right moment to stop holding back and say something.
Despite the heaviness of the subject, she was determined the track wouldn’t feel paralysing, or like she was holding back. “I wanted it to be rocky, something people can scream to and jump to,” she says. “A cathartic release, not a depressing moment.” That energy is deliberate, she wanted it to be a rallying cry rather than a lament.
But releasing a song like this in 2026 comes with its own storm, and GIRLI has already seen the darker side of social media since the track dropped.“The trolling and harassment I’ve had just this week is crazy,” she says, shaking her head. She’s trying to create a safe space for fans to share their stories, but those misogynistic voices keep barging in. Still, she sees the duality, social platforms can be both a lifeline and a liability. Younger audiences, she notes, seem more empowered to speak out, one of the few positives she still sees in the online world.
The music video above adds another layer of weight to the track. It opens with a disclaimer noting that the scenes are based on real events and real locations. GIRLI and co‑director Eliza Hatch, founder of Cheer Up Luv, were determined to protect the survivors whose stories inspired the visuals. “We asked people to submit anonymously,” she explains. “We didn’t want anyone exposed to trolling.” The team then recreated the stories using actors and locations that reflected the patterns they observed, such as parks, streets, and everyday spaces where harassment had occurred. The casting mirrors the diversity of the submissions, “all ages, races, religions,” she says, because violence doesn’t discriminate.
Eliza’s involvement was essential. Years ago, she created a photo series of survivors standing in the places where they were assaulted. That project became the seed for the entire video. “When I saw it, I knew we had to make a video version,” GIRLI says. “It had to be her.”
The activism doesn’t stop at the visuals. For every pre‑save of the single, GIRLI donated proceeds to Right to Be. “Art and activism go hand in hand for me,” she says. “Putting your money where your mouth is matters.” She’s also taking her fight offline next week, she’ll be delivering a petition to Downing Street with Rape Crisis, calling for an end to court delays in rape cases. Systemic change, she argues, has to start with how sexual violence is portrayed in the media and how survivors are treated in the justice system.
Musically, Slap On The Wrist marks a shift. The gloss of her previous era has been stripped back in favour of something grittier, more grounded. “I wanted to be more authentically myself,” she says. “As a teenager, I loved indie rock, it was such an incredible time for that genre in the UK, and I’m enjoying bringing those elements back.” The line between GIRLI and Milly feels less like a divide now, more like a merging.
Has she ever felt pressure to soften her political edge? “At the start of my career, definitely,” she admits. “I was young, impressionable, and had big label execs telling me to polish my sound and make my lyrics more palatable.” She laughs. “I wriggled out of that one and never looked back.”
In many ways, Slap On The Wrist is the perfect distillation of who she is now, an artist who refuses to separate the personal from the political. “I want to inspire change, fight injustice, be loud,” she says. “But I also want to be sensitive and vulnerable and relatable. This song does both.”
Pre-save/stream “Slap On The Wrist” here: girli – Slap On The Wrist
Rape Crisis Website: Rape Crisis England & Wales
Donate/learn more via Right to Be or Cheer Up Luv: Cheer Up Luv
Follow @cheerupluv and @girlimusic for updates.
