‘I’m Absolutely Terrified’: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Kendrick Lamar and More Denounce Roe v. Wade Decision

In the days following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, musicians and celebrities spanning from Taylor Swift and Jazmine Sullivan to Billie Eilish, John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, and more have used their platform both online and in-person to voice their disappointment and frustration with the reversal that will strip millions of their bodily autonomy. 

Swift is shared her thoughts on Friday after retweeting a letter from Michelle Obama. The singer expressed her disappointment with the court’s decision to strip women of their rights to abortion access.

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“I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are,” she wrote. “That after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that.”

In the Obama-written letter shared by Swift, the former First Lady wrote that she was “heartbroken” by the “horrifying” decision made by the Supreme Court, adding that it will have “devastating consequences” on the people it will affect.

“I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of the time before Roe was made law of the land — a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions,” Obama wrote. “A time when the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to move forward with pregnancies they didn’t want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born.”

The outpour only continued as more musicians and celebrities work to raise awareness across platforms.

“Today, Trump’s radical (Republican) Supreme court became responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of American women,” wrote Cher on Twitter. “They can’t be prosecuted, but make no mistake… ‘They are guilty.’ “

“Today is hard, but we are not done here because in this country the conversation and fight for our civil rights will always continue,” added Cyndi Lauper. “Equality for all, not just for some. Stand together with those who need our help most right now.”

In New York’s Greenwich Village, Kesha appeared at a Pride event celebrating the ground-breaking ceremony for a visitors’ center honoring the Stonewall Inn, which will be completed in 2024.

“I also have to say,” she said, mentioning the Supreme Court and the decision, which was met with loud boos from the crowd gathered. “I don’t want to bring down the mood, but it’s important that we understand that we are family. Look around. You’ve got brothers and fucking sisters. We need each other. We are not alone in this.”

She added, “And we need you now more than ever. And we really need to remember … this is not easy. This is not gonna be easy and we are not done fighting.” (Returning to the celebratory mood of the Pride Day event, she sang a four-song set of her dance bangers “Animal,” “We R Who We R,” “Tik Tok,” and “Blow.”)

On Saturday night during Spotify’s Night of Music event at VidCon in Anaheim, SZA encouraged creators and influencers to spread positivity amid the negative news.

‪”I think every single person has the capability and influence to spread an idea. The ideas right now, some of them are really dangerous and really scary. I want us to be super, super fucking passionate about what we choose to spread,” SZA said to end her performance. “If you imagine if we all dropped a positive huge bomb of energy and the belief of possibility… I know it’s really easy to join in on the ‘Ugh, this sucks right now. Everything sucks.’ But it’s like, we are the only future that there is.”

She added, “We have to do something. I believe in you. I trust you.”

Maren Morris, just had three words to share on Twitter: “This is America.” Phoebe Bridgers just two: “Fucking evil.“

She then hit the stage at Glastonbury and addressed SCOTUS’ decision. “I’m having like the shittiest day. Are there any Americans here?” asked Bridgers before asking the crowd to say, “Fuck the Supreme Court” on the count of three.

“Fuck that shit. Fuck America. Like fuck you,” she said. “All these irrelevant old motherfuckers trying to tell us what to do with our fucking bodies. Ugh.”

Before performing her song “Your Power,” Billie Eilish also used her headlining Glastonbury set to address the Supreme Court ruling. “The song we’re about to do is, I think, one of the favorites that we’ve written and it’s about the concept of power and how we need to always remember how not to abuse it,” she said. “And today is a really, really dark day for women in the US. I’m just going to say that as I cannot bear to think about it any longer in this moment.”

Meanwhile, John Legend shared a video of police officers in riot gear heading over to the Supreme Court building. “Storm troopers on their way to tell women to shut up and accept government-mandated childbirth,” he tweeted. “Sickening.”

Maggie Rogers made a direct assertion, writing, “abortion is healthcare. bodily autonomy is a human right.”

During an appearance at NYC Pride, Kim Petras made her own nod to the decision, telling the packed out crowd: “I don’t think gender should define what you can and can’t do with your fucking body. You know what it is, I just wanna let you know I’m fucking here for you.”

Hayley Kiyoko said she felt “sick to my stomach” after hearing the news of the SCOTUS decision. “I know so many people are terrified right now. Terrified doesn’t even express the pain,” she wrote. “You are not alone. Please know you have people in this world that are going to FIGHT LIKE HELL to get our constitutional rights back.”

On stage at Glastonbury, Olivia Rodrigo told the sea of festival-goers: “I’m devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this.” While introducing the next song in her set – a cover of Lily Allen’s “Fuck You” performed alongside Allen herself – the 19-year-old singer and songwriter made the track’s dedication perfect clear.

“I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a shit about freedom,” she said. “This song goes out to the justices: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you!”

Kendrick Lamar made space to call attention to the repeal during his headlining set at Glastonbury. During “Savior,” the rapper led the crowd in a chant: “Godspeed for women’s rights; they judge you, they judge Christ.” All the while, blood dripped down his face from a crown of thorns.

At Sunday night’s BET Awards, the Supreme Court ruling made its way into a number of speeches during the lengthy ceremony. While presenting Jazmine Sullivan with an award, Janelle Monae lifted a middle finger to the air, saying: “Fuck you, Supreme Court.”

“If you’ve ever benefited from a woman making one of the toughest decisions of her life, which is to terminate a pregnancy, you need to be standing with us,” Sullivan declared while accepting the award. “This is not just a woman’s issue. This is everybody’s issue, and we need your support more than ever.”

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-3 that states can restrict or outright ban abortion at any point during a pregnancy, overturning the landmark 1973 decision that enshrined abortion protections in federal law, along with a subsequent decision that affirmed those protections in 1991.

“Roe and [Planned Parenthood v.] Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito declared. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

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