Lorde addresses U.S. abortion rights rollback during Glastonbury Festival set
Lorde gave a speech about the overturning of Roe v. Wade during her Glastonbury Festival set on Sunday.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling which gave American women the constitutional right to an abortion. The new decision gives individual U.S. states the ability to ban abortions.
The Royals star addressed the ruling while on the festival’s iconic Pyramid Stage, saying, “Welcome to sadness. The temperature is unbearable until you face it. You wanna know a secret, girls? Your bodies were destined to be controlled and objectified since before you were born. That horror is your birthright.”
According to NME, she continued, “Here’s another secret – you possess ancient strength, ancient wisdom. Wisdom that has propelled every woman who came before you. That wisdom is your birthright. I ask you today, make accessing that wisdom your life’s work, because everything depends on that.”
As the song Secrets From a Girl (Who’s Seen It All) ended, Lorde concluded, “F**k the Supreme Court.”
The New Zealand-born musician performed on the stage before Kendrick Lamar’s headlining set closed the 2022 festival on Sunday.
The rapper addressed the rollback of abortion rights in a more theatrical manner during his performance. He closed the show with his song Savior and he kept repeating, “Godspeed for women’s rights. They judge you, they judge Christ,” as blood poured down his face from a crown of thorns and onto his white shirt.
According to the BBC, he increased his intensity as he repeated the phrase, before stopping mid-sentence, throwing his microphone to the ground and walking off stage.
