- Roan called for better welfare for artists during a Grammys acceptance speech
- She called out a reporter for criticising her speech in an op-ed
- She then donated $25,000 and encouraged him to do the same
Chappell Roan’s speech at the Grammys calling for better welfare protections went down a storm last week – but not everyone saw her point.
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When she went up to collect the award for Best New Artist, Roan used her platform to call for the music industry to look after artists better emotionally and financially.
“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage, especially to developing artists,” she said.
“Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection. Labels, we got you – but do you got us?”
While her speech was received very well on social media, she later became the subject of a controversial op-ed in The Hollywood Reporter.
Music executive Jeffrey Rabhan, who previously worked at Roan’s former label Atlantic Records, criticised her speech in the piece. He described Roan as “misguided” and “too uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be today”.
“Let’s talk”
After Rabhan suggested “no longer a struggling artist” and should “do something about” the wealth disparity “rather than talk about it”, Roan took more decisive action.
She pledged $25,000 dollars to artists in need who had been dropped by a record label like she was in 2020.
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“[Rabhan], wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling, dropped artists?” Roan asked, “My publicity is @biz3publicity. Let’s talk.”
Rabhan hasn’t yet responded to Roan’s suggestion.
Who has spoken out in support of Chappell Roan?
Several artists have come to Roan’s defense in various ways. Halsey, for example, described the op-ed as a “personal attack” on Roan as well as “boot-licking behaviour”.
While Rabhan hasn’t responded to Roan’s call for him to match her donation, a couple of other artists have.
Noah Kahan gave $25,000 to help artists struggling to afford health insurance. “I’m inspired by you. Happy to help get the ball rolling,” he said, adding that he was putting “money where my mouth is”.
Later, Charli XCX did the same, writing on her socials: “hey @chappellroan I am going to match your $25k to support artist’s access to healthcare,” she wrote. “i saw @noahkahanmusic say that he would do the same and so i thought id follow suit. your speech at the grammys was inspiring and thoughtful and from a genuine place of care. happy to help get the ball rolling too. money where my mouth is.”
