Halsey said good riddance to concertgoers who walked out of her show in Arizona on Sunday as she advocated onstage for reproductive rights.
On Monday, the “Without Me” hit-maker responded on Twitter to a fan who was sickened by the number of people who exited their concert at Phoenix’s Ak-Chin Pavilion amphitheater.
According to Twitter user @MariaRawrz, attendees left the venue when Halsey spoke out against the Supreme Court’s reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision protecting the right to have an abortion.
“The truth is that my heart breaks looking out into this audience, because I see so many people … who deserve the right to health care that they need,” Halsey told her Phoenix audience on Sunday. Chris Pizzello/Associated Press
“Downside of doing outdoor venues: no door to hit them on the way out,” Halsey tweeted.
The Grammy nominee was among several musicians who protested the Supreme Court’s actions this weekend in front of a live crowd. Among others who publicly denounced the overturning were Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish and Billie Joe Armstrong.
“If you’re mad in this audience right now, and you’re sharing statistics on Instagram and infographics and saying … ‘That’s really (expletive) up,’ what you should do instead is you should be sharing stories about how you’ve benefited from abortion somehow,” Halsey said in concert footage uploaded Monday.
“The truth is that my heart breaks looking out into this audience, because I see so many people … who deserve the right to health care that they need. Who deserve the right to choose themselves in a situation where there is a choice.”
This isn’t the first time the “Closer” singer has used their platform to support reproductive autonomy. As soon as the Supreme Court news surfaced on Friday, a “defeated” Halsey tweeted that she was “running out of ways to word and frame the severity of the impact that fundamentalism has on our country.”
“Some of the people I’m looking at right now are going to need an abortion one day, and you deserve that,” she continued at the Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix.
“Whether it’s a life-threatening situation or it’s not, you deserve it. And here in Arizona, you guys gotta promise me that you’re gonna do that work so that the person to the left of you and to the right of you has that right for the rest of their lives.”
Halsey performed as part of their Love and Power tour, featuring Beabadoobee, PinkPantheress, the Marias and Abby Roberts.
Perhaps noticing and addressing the concertgoers making their way toward exits, the pop musician added, “If you don’t like it, you can go home right now. I don’t care. If you don’t like it, I don’t know why you came to a Halsey concert.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
