This weekend, Glastonbury Festival returned with a bang. The historic celebration of music (and just about every other creative art form you could imagine) kicked off on Friday in Somerset with a headline set from Billie Eilish, followed by further high-profile appearances from the likes of Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, and Kendrick Lamar.
But on Saturday, a performance by one of America’s most exciting breakout stars caused a major stir both at the fields of Worthy Farm and across the internet – for all the right reasons. The 19-year-old pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo took to the festival’s Other Stage to reel off a selection of her biggest hits, including “Drivers License” and “Brutal,” while wearing a custom Chopova Lowena look that put a playful twist on her reliably Y2K-inspired style.
The real highlight, though, came after Rodrigo brought on a surprise guest: Lily Allen. A British pop icon in her own right, Allen was on hand to provide a rendition of her 2009 track “F*ck You” – but not before Rodrigo made clear she had a very specific dedication for the song in mind. After inviting Allen on stage, Rodrigo took the moment to deliver an impassioned speech on the Supreme Court reversal of Roe v Wade and the ongoing rollback of abortion rights in America.
“I’m heartbroken over what happened in America yesterday,” Rodrigo said. “The Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v Wade, which is the law that ensures a woman’s right to a safe abortion, and other basic human rights. 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 shown us that, at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a sh*t about freedom. This song goes out to the justices: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.”
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While there are very serious and concrete steps that need to be made to address the crisis currently facing the pro-choice movement in the US, it was refreshing to see an artist make a statement without sugarcoating the issue – directly addressing the dangers of the overturning of Roe v Wade and those responsible for it head-on, without fear of the fans it might alienate. To paraphrase the title of one of Rodrigo’s biggest hits: good for her.
