Camila Cabello's collaborator insists 'no trickery' behind Fifth Harmony split

Camila Cabello's duet partner Machine Gun Kelly has defended her split from Fifth Harmony and accused her former bandmates of picking on her.

The remaining four members of the girl group announced on Sunday (18Dec16) the 19-year-old had informed them she was leaving. But Camila disputed their version of events, saying it didn't go down the way they had described, and her former bandmates released another statement telling fans they were "truly hurt" by Camila and had made attempts to keep her for months but she was uninterested.

Camila currently features on the single Bad Things by rapper Kelly, real name Richard Colson Baker, and he recently spoke out to defend his collaborator and accuse her bandmates of turning their backs on her.

"Camila's such a strong person but she's like an innocent, young girl. It just kinda sucks to feel like people just did a quick like back turn," he said in footage from a radio interview, shared on the Fifth Harmony Worldwide Source Twitter account.

"I know Camila, there is no like trickery going on. There’s no behind-the-back stuff," he continued. "It seems like, the way that it played out, it wasn’t great timing… but I know that it was all so genuine... I don't like seeing someone like that almost get picked on I guess.”

The rapper, who said he was "behind the scenes a lot" also added that the others - Ally Brooke Hernandez, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hansen and Lauren Jauregui - should be "grateful" for the years they spent together and focus on their future.

According to the fourpiece, Camila's manager told them back in November (16) she would be leaving after their show in Miami on Sunday.

They told fans in their most recent statement: "We were truly hurt. We truly support anyone's decision to do what makes them happy and to that end we do wish Camila all the best although saddened by the way she and her team handled the situation."