Many musicians have publicly condemned the US Supreme Court's vile overturning of Roe v. Wade last Friday (June 24), but Rage Against the Machine and Lizzo have taken a crucial step beyond using their platforms to be vocal.
The Los Angeles-formed band and Detroit, MI-hailing singer-songwriter have announced their plans to donate a portion of proceeds from upcoming touring commitments to abortion funds and reproductive rights organizations.
On the same day as the historic repeal, Lizzo immediately sprang into action. "I'm pledging $500K from my upcoming tour to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights," the pop star wrote on Twitter of her upcoming fall 2022 North American tour, which she'll kick off in September to support sophomore album Special. "Live Nation agreed to match," she added of the entertainment company, making their combined charitable efforts total $1 million USD.
The Los Angeles-formed band and Detroit, MI-hailing singer-songwriter have announced their plans to donate a portion of proceeds from upcoming touring commitments to abortion funds and reproductive rights organizations.
On the same day as the historic repeal, Lizzo immediately sprang into action. "I'm pledging $500K from my upcoming tour to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights," the pop star wrote on Twitter of her upcoming fall 2022 North American tour, which she'll kick off in September to support sophomore album Special. "Live Nation agreed to match," she added of the entertainment company, making their combined charitable efforts total $1 million USD.
This is not the first time Lizzo has led by example as of late, having shared a new, edited version of latest single "Grrrls" three days after she was criticized for using an ableist slur in the original lyrics. Live Nation also recently teamed up with Harry Styles to donate over $1 million to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, as well as being one of the companies that have vowed to cover employee travel costs for abortions.
Meanwhile, Rage Against the Machine took to Instagram over the weekend to share their philanthropic efforts in a statement. "We are disgusted by the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the devastating impact it will have on tens of millions of people," the band wrote. "Over half of the country (26 states) is likely to ban or seriously restrict abortion very soon, if not immediately, which will have a disproportionate impact on poor, working class and undocumented BIPOC communities."
"To date, our fans have raised $475,000.00 from the sale of our charity tickets at Alpine Valley and the United Center," the message continued, referring to their upcoming rescheduled tour dates that begin in July. "We are donating that money to reproductive rights organizations in Wisconsin and Illinois."
See RATM's pledge below.
