At the Missouri stop of her Guts world tour on Tuesday, Olivia Rodrigo fans were offered free Plan B (emergency contraception). The Missouri
abortion Fund, a non-profit organisation, ran booths at Rodrigo’s concert venue, where they also handed out condoms and fliers with abortion resources. On
Social Media, the response was predictably mixed: Rodrigo’s fans praised the move, while
anti-abortion commentators called it “sickening”. Rodrigo’s activism resonates in the
United States. Abortion is illegal or restricted in 21 states, including Missouri, and there are even fears that access to Plan B could be threatened following the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade , the landmark case that protected a woman’s choice to have an abortion in the US. Rodrigo, who turned 21 last month, has been repeatedly vocal about reproductive rights. She performed at Glastonbury Festival the day after the
Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, where she made her feelings clear about the ruling. “I’m devastated and terrified that so many
Women and so many girls are going to die because of this,” Rodrigo told the audience, before bringing
British musician Lily Allen on stage for a performance of Allen’s song “Fuck You”, which Rodrigo dedicated to the Supreme Court. Rodrigo has repeatedly put her money where her mouth is. This year, she launched her Fund 4 Good, a global initiative for reproductive health freedom. She’s also donating a portion of all ticket sales from her tour to The National Network of Abortion Funds. We shouldn’t be surprised. Rodrigo stands with many of her contemporaries in speaking up against social injustice. This is, after all, the generation coming of age alongside Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, cancel culture and an ever-worsening climate emergency. For an increasing number of young pop stars, silence isn’t an option any more. Calling to mind the activism of 1960s folk artists such as Joan Baez, protest singers such as Sinead O’Connor or Nina Simone, and the Rock for Choice movement in the 1990s, musicians are bringing politics back onstage. Billie Eilish , who was included in Time Magazine ’s Climate 100 list, runs a climate action event called Overheated, which brings together panels of youth activists and artists. She’s also come out in favour of a
Gaza ceasefire, joining Dua Lipa, Sam Fender and Olly Alexander among others. Two of Gen Z’s favourite “sad girl” musicians, Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie Abrams, have worked with abortion funds. Bridgers even tweeted about her own abortion following the overturning of Roe v Wade. There’s also an entirely new roster of radically open queer pop stars, including Lil Nas X, Reneé Rapp and Troye Sivan, who haven’t felt pressured to wait for their fame to be cemented before coming out. Read Next Jedward were denied a voice as puppet popstars - now they've found it This is what a modern pop star looks like in 2024. In the noughties and early 2010s, this level of outspokenness could result in significant negative consequences for mainstream musicians. Country band The Chicks were blacklisted from the industry for years following an onstage comment by lead
Singer Natalie Maines about being ashamed to be from the same state as President Bush, nine days before the invasion of
Iraq. But times and expectations have changed: Rodrigo’s Plan B handouts come one week after Taylor Swift’s somewhat lacklustre “go out and vote” message on Super Tuesday. While Swift has, in the past, identified as a Democrat and even spoken out against the overturning of Roe v Wade, her silence on issues including the Israel-Palestine conflict and the upcoming
election in the US have prompted criticism. The stakes are high. With the rise of stan culture on social media, fans are quick to take even their favourite celebrities to task: this summer,
Rapper Doja Cat lost more than 200,000 followers following a series of scandals. The new set of young pop stars are hyper-aware of social injustice – and the expectations of their fans – and conscious of a responsibility to use their platform for good. Rodrigo’s
music is typically loud, messy, and angry: during her recent
Saturday Night Live performance she smashed up a tea party, and she smeared fake blood over her body while singing at the Grammy Awards. But her consistent activism shows that she’s taking her rage beyond aesthetics and into real-world issues. This is the pop star that our culture has created: they’re angry, and they’re loud about it.