Culture

“I felt the rush”: Troye Sivan reacts to FDA crackdown on poppers

By Jordan Robledo

1st April 2025

Troye Sivan shared his unfiltered reaction to the closure of this poppers manufacturer.  

Back in March, Fast Company reported that the US Food and Drug Administration was beginning to clamp down on the distribution of poppers.

Also known as alkyl nitrites, the party drug, when inhaled, causes a temporary euphoric high and muscle relaxation. Over the last few decades, poppers have become a staple within the LGBTQIA+ nightlife scene, specifically men who have sex with men.

Due to the sudden attention from the FDA, many poppers manufacturers have begun to cease operations, including Double Scorpio.

In a now-deleted statement posted, the Austin-based company, which also sold lube and accessories, wrote: “Double Scorpio has stopped all operations following a search and seizure at our offices by the FDA.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported us these last eight years. We’ve always cared about making an authentic product and being engaged with and supporting our community.

“We are proud that we managed to build a brand that people can trust, and we don’t want to see that trust exploited. Thanks for everything… and remember, keep supporting queer businesses, creators, and your local queens.”

Naturally, the recent crackdown on poppers has resulted in various reactions from social media users, including pop superstar Sivan.

On 30 March, the ‘One Of Your Girls’ singer took to his Instagram page to share his condolences for the seeming end of the poppers era.

“mfw the poppers party is over,” Sivan wrote alongside a selfie of him looking at the camera. In an additional story, he wrote: “I felt the rush.”


Over the last few years, the recreational drug has earned mainstream popularity, partly due to social media memes like Charli XCX’s iconic ‘gay rights’ video.

In 2023, poppers gained even more attention when Sivan released his chart-topping banger ‘Rush’– which is a reference to the brand of poppers of the same name.

However, the latest poppers crackdown isn’t the first time the product has faced scrutiny from the FDA.

In 2021, the federal agency released an article calling on consumers to avoid purchasing or inhaling the party drug.

In the piece, Judy McMeekin, a Pharm. D., Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, warned potential users that “ingesting or inhaling poppers seriously jeopardies your health.”

“These chemicals can be caustic and damage the skin or other tissues they come in contact with, cause difficulty breathing, extreme drops in blood pressure, decreases in blood oxygen levels, seizures, heart arrhythmia, coma, and death. Do not ingest or inhale under any circumstances,” she added.

While the safety of poppers has continued to be a topic of discussion within the medical field, it has also been the subject of wild conspiracy theories and misinformation.

In 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr – who was recently appointed by Donald Trump as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, falsely claimed that the AIDS crisis stemmed from the use of poppers.

For more information about poppers and their history, click here.