Yahoo Lifestyle Chappell Roan's Grammy Speech Was Heavily Criticized, And Now She And Other Artists Are "Putting Their Money Where Their Mouth Is"
Chappell Roan's not the only one putting her money where her mouth is.
On Feb. 2 at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, Chappell won Best New Artist and used her speech to address the critical issue of healthcare and livable wages for developing artists.
"I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare especially, to developing artists," she said.
"It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanized to not have help," she continued. "Labels, we got you, but do you got us?"
Chappell's speech was well-received by the audience, and her fans applauded her for using her platform to bring awareness to the flawed system.
"chappell roan wins a fucking grammy and calls out the entire system and demands label to provide a livable wage and health insurance. god I love her so much and how she refuses to conform to the industry. no one does it like her," one person wrote.
"chappell's voice shaking & then getting stronger at the end, everyone giving her a standing ovation, multiple people crying.... chappell roan you are SO deserving," another person wrote.
On the flip side, former record label executive Jeff Rabhan wrote an op-ed for the Hollywood Reporter criticizing Chappell's speech, calling it a "hackneyed and plagiarized script."
Jeff's criticisms of Chappell's demands were that she was "far too green and misinformed." His critique was met with immediate backlash and ultimately proved that her speech was working.
Halsey shared a lengthy response on her Instagram stories, calling out Hollywood Reporter for platforming Jeff's "ranting, seething" op-ed.
Jc Olivera / WireImage
The "Without Me" singer wrote that if record labels "want to profit off of someone else's art; that artist should have the basic living means to feel safe enough to create that art."
In the op-ed, Jeff also suggested that Chappell should "put her money where her mouth is" if she wanted to make any substantial change in the industry, and Chappell responded accordingly.
In a series of IG stories, Chappell asked Jeff to match her $25,000 donation to struggling artists who were dropped from their label.
@chappelroan / Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/chappellroan/?hl=en
She promised to show her receipts and addressed Jeff directly, "Mr. Rabhan I love how in the article you said 'put your money where your mouth is' Genius!!! Let's link and build together and see if you can do the same."
Her response and pledge to donate $25k received more praise from fans:
"Oh she's standing on business.. LOVE that. she's one of the very few artists who are vocal about the industry, protect her at all costs," one fan wrote.
Another fan wrote, "Love how Chappell Roan is standing up for artists and challenging the industry. Let's support each other and make a difference!"
It didn't stop there. Chappell's promise gained real momentum when other music artists joined the pledge.
On Feb. 8, Noah Kahan, nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Cowboys Cry Too" with Kelsea Ballerini, shared he will join Chappell. He wrote, "Hey @chappellroan, I'm going to match your 25k to support artist's access to healthcare. I'm inspired by you. Happy to help get the ball rolling. Money where my mouth is!"
Kevin Mazur / Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for The Recording Academy, @noahkahanmusic / Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/noahkahanmusic/?hl=en
Charli XCX, who won three Grammys for Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Recording Package for Brat, and Best Dance Pop Recording for "Von Dutch," also pledged to support Chappell's donations. "I saw @noahkahanmusic say that he would do the same and so i thought i'd follow suit. Your speech at the grammys was inspiring and thoughtful and from a genuine place of care. Happy to help get the ball rolling too. Money where my mouth is xx."
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images, @charli_xcx / Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/charli_xcx/?hl=en
In all fairness, the Hollywood Reporter op-ed challenged Chappell to "put her money where her mouth is." Now that she's doing that and other big-name artists are following suit, perhaps her speech was necessary.
The fans sure think so:
"im so glad they're speaking up about this. we've lost so many great artists bc of the lack of support and care for their well being," one person wrote.
"this is why chappell being so vocal about her beliefs is so necessary omg she's made such a huge impact," another person wrote.
Jeff responded to Halsey and Chappell in a lengthy open letter posted to his X account, stating that his "article was not a personal attack" and instead a "call to action." He criticized challenging him to match the 25K donations and offered other solutions that were met with more backlash.
One person wrote, "you wrote an article shitting on change she wishes to see for artists bc it's disrupting the current structure of being an artist signed by a label...she calls u out on it, and now u come to twitter to whine about it? because how dare someone confront u for the words you write?"
"This is such a self-righteous attempt to be bitter dismiss the validity of lived experience. Chappell raised such a beautiful point. Artists break their backs NIGHT AND DAY to try to get any kind of recognition from executives like you (not just professors). If they work for you, they DESERVE compensation. End of story," another person wrote.
Cheers to more fighting for the underdog and less energy wasted criticizing the voices of change.
We'll let you know if more celebrities join Chappell in the putting "money where my mouth is" movement.
