Lorde took a few minutes during her show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Thursday night (May 5) to share her feelings after this week’s leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting that the high court is preparing to repeal Roe v. Wade. And in a very Lorde move, she kindly suggested that we all take a beat and take a breath.
“Like so many of you, I’ve been sickened and heartbroken this week by the news that there are some people who think that our bodies are not our own,” the singer said in video captured by fans at the gig. “And I still don’t have the words to talk about this with you. It’s so big and so heavy. I think it’s OK to freeze for a little bit, you know, and then you re-engage. But what I’m trying to say is I have some big, heavy s–t that I am working through that I am feeling.”
She encouraged her fans to sort through some of those feelings and just find a way to “get them out.”
The pointed comment came after a week in which a huge swath of artists spoke up and out about the possibility of the conservative-majority court potentially shunting aside a half-century of established precedent and overturning the landmark 1973 decision. Olivia Rodrigo took time during a Sour tour stop at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night to share her thoughts as well.
“Because we’re in D.C., I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say how heartbroken I am over the Supreme Court’s potential decision,” Rodrigo said. “Our bodies should never be in the hands of politicians. I hope we can raise our voices to protect our right to have a safe abortion, which is a right that so many people before us have worked so hard to get.”
Rodrigo’s former tour mate Gracie Abrams weighed in as well, as did Halsey, who called the potential overturning of Roe a “catastrophic shift in our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive health care.” Phoebe Bridgers also spoke up, sharing that she had an abortion while she was on tour last year, posting in an Instagram Story that she “went to Planned Parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.”
Chief Justice John Roberts has since confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft, while adding that the document “does not represent a decision by the Court” and calling for an investigation into the source of the leak. President Biden, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that Roe v. Wade represents a woman’s “fundamental” right to choose, and assured abortion rights activists that “we will be ready” should the Court overturn the decision, without providing specifics about his administration’s plans.
Watch Lorde’s comments below.
Lorde on the recent SCOTUS decision draft to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“I’ve been sickened and heartbroken this week by the news that there is some people that think our bodies are not our own.”
— The Lorde Cult (@TheLordeCult) May 6, 2022
