fb-pixelTaylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and other artists speak out against the overturning of Roe - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and other artists speak out against the overturning of Roe

Billie Eilish performs on the Pyramid main stage at Glastonbury Festival, in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Friday, June 24, 2022.Joel C Ryan/Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Since the news broke on Friday, artists and entertainers across the globe joined the masses decrying the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade online, at concerts, and in public appearances.

Entertainment giants like Disney, Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast announced on Friday that they would cover employee travel expenses to states where abortions remain legal.

“We recognize the impact of the ruling and that we remain committed to providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members, and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, no matter where they live,” Disney said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Advertisement



Celebrities and artists also voiced their concerns online.

“I’m absolutely terrified this is where we are,” Taylor Swift tweeted in response to a statement posted by former first lady Michelle Obama. “That after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that.”

During a concert at London Stadium Friday, Green Day singer-songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong told the crowd he was renouncing his United States citizenship. “There’s too much [expletive] stupid in the world to go back to that miserable [expletive] excuse for a country,” Armstrong said.

“Today is a really, really dark day for women in the US,” singer-songwriter Billie Eilish said from the stage Friday at Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, Somerset, England, where she was the headlining act.

Olivia Rodrigo shared her opinion at Glastonbury on Saturday, before performing “[Expletive] You” with Lily Allen.

“I’m devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this, and I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that, at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a [expletive] about freedom. This song goes out to the justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.”

Advertisement



At the podium accepting the award for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist during the BET Awards on Sunday night, singer-songwriter Jazmine Sullivan asked men for their allyship in the fight for abortion rights.

“For my sisters especially, it’s a hard time right now for us and I want to speak directly to the men. We need y’all. We need y’all to stand up, stand up for us, stand up with us. If you’ve ever benefited from a woman making one of the toughest decisions of her life, which is to terminate a pregnancy, you need to be standing with us. This is not just a woman’s issue, this is everybody’s issue, and we need your support more than ever, OK fellas? Y’all got us? Cause we got y’all.”

On Friday morning via Twitter, actor, composer, and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda called the Supreme Court decision “unconscionable. We continue to fight.”

Pearl Jam released a lengthy statement on Instagram, and offered a way for people to act.

“No one, not the government, not politicians, not the Supreme Court should prevent access to abortion, birth control, and contraceptives. People should have the FREEDOM to choose. Today’s decision impacts everyone and it will particularly affect poor women who can’t afford to travel to access health care. We will stay active, we will not back down and we will never give up. Elections have consequences, please join us. Text CHOICE to 855-812-VOTE.”

Advertisement



Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy,” called the decision “dystopian sci-fi.”

Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, who just graduated from Harvard Divinity School, weighed in: “Abortion is healthcare,” she tweeted. “Bodily autonomy is a human right.”

Author Glennon Doyle of “Untamed” also shared her fears on Twitter: “Comfort to every human being who feels afraid right now. I feel afraid too. it is okay to feel afraid and tender now. soon, the anger returns and we fight like bloody hell.

Author Roxane Gay, who penned “Bad Feminist,” echoed the notion that it’s time to fight.

“What ends today in more than 20 states is LEGAL abortion, women’s and people with uteri’s rights to bodily autonomy, and the fragile notion that everyone is free. Clearly, few of us are. I do not know where we go from here but this is not the end of a fight. It’s the beginning.”



Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her @brittbowker and also on Instagram @brittbowker. Sam Trottenberg can be reached at sam.trottenberg@globe.com.