Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Offers to Drive Women Seeking Abortions Across State Lines

"I'm here for you if I can be. I'll drive anyone from WI to MN for anything you need"

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Jul 5, 2022

In a time when most things aren't bon at all, the soothing sounds of Bon Iver — helmed by chief architect, Wisconsin singer-songwriter Justin Vernon — are a balm for many.

Less than two weeks since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the reverberations for bodily autonomy have turned social media into even more of a harrowing echo chamber than usual. It's certainly far less comforting than Vernon's lush sound baths; however, Twitter is where the musician has offered more than just his art or virtue-signalling support for people whose reproductive rights have been stripped: Vernon says he's willing to drive "anyone from WI to MN for anything you need."

The artist's home state is among those that have walked back the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, while abortion remains legal in the neighbouring state of Minnesota. In a series of tweets shared yesterday (July 4), Vernon addresses how he's been using the platform as of late, apologizing for his engagement (or lack thereof) in certain difficult conversations, seemingly referring to some since-deleted tweets.

He wrote:

There has been a lot of conversation on here. It got to be too many to keep up with. There is no arguing with the self righteous people who believe they can control what women decide to do with their own bodies. I feel bad for starting conversations I couldn't finish and for those women who were ATTACKED and ridiculed for sharing their own stories[.] I am so truly sorry for inviting this kind of madness to your timelines. I swear, I'm here for you if I can be. I'll drive anyone from WI to MN for anything you need.

I poster and pose like anyone on here. I want to be seen just like anyone else. I want people to know that I care... because I DO. I wake up with tarts [sic] in my eyes every morning. Alll [sic] this shit can be so devastating. But I [sic] trying as hard as I can and I let some of you down. I'm so sorry. Please don't @ me with any sympathy or encouragement. I need to learn from this. I like to pretend I don't have as big a platform as I do sometimes — then when some interaction is challenging on here, I scroll past, leaving some of you undefended. Gonna grow. 


See Vernon's tweets below.
 

Bon Iver's most recent album remains 2019's i, i — the band's fourth offering and one of Exclaim!'s 20 Best Pop and Rock Albums that year. More recently, they reissued their 2011 album for its 10th anniversary, and Vernon joined forces with the National's Aaron Dessner to release their second collaboration as Big Red Machine, 2021's How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?

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