The saga continues. When accepting the award for Best New Artist at the Grammys on February 2, Chappell Roan took the opportunity to address a room full of some of the biggest music industry movers and shakers, demanding that labels provide their artists with better support, including healthcare. Jeff Rabhan proceeded to write a vastly denounced piece for The Hollywood Reporter about how the pop star's speech was "disingenuous" and "wildly misinformed," to which Halsey penned a response.
After his suggestion that Roan "should do something about it — rather than just talk at it," she responded by challenging Rabhan to match her in donating $25,000 USD to help struggling artists who had been dropped by their labels the way she was in 2020.
Late Friday (February 7), Rabhan published an open letter to both Roan and Halsey on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, claiming that he doesn't make enough money as an educator (he's the former Chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and currently is the CEO of an education company he founded last year) to give away $25,000 — and has already "given away thousands of hours to artists in need."
Rabhan went on to argue that his op-ed wasn't a personal attack on Roan, but he's now being victimized by fans of hers and Halsey's. "If you and Halsey had directed your fanbase to donate $1 to your Living Artist Fund for every hate filled slur sent to me — you would have enough funding in ONE DAY to cover health care for every single artist and writer in need for almost 2 years," he wrote. You can read the full thing below.
Roan's community of fellow artists are clearly on her side, with both Noah Kahan and Charli XCX pledging to match her donation over the weekend. "Happy to help get the ball rolling," Kahan wrote on his Instagram story. "Money where my mouth is!"
Charli added, "Your speech at the Grammys was inspiring and thoughtful and from a genuine place of care. Happy to help get the ball rolling too."
In another Instagram Story post yesterday (February 9), Roan doubled down on the demands she made during her speech. She explained that sharing her personal experience on stage "wasn't meant to be a crowdfunded bandaid," but instead a "call to action to the leaders of the industry to step up, help us make real change and protect their investments in a sustainable way."
"My mind will not be changed about artists deserving more than what's standard in the industry," the pop star continued. "Random dudes are allowed to criticize my Grammy speech, but they best put their money where their mouth is, otherwise MOVE out of the way."
Roan proceeded to clarify that the charitable organization she's supporting with her donation is Backline, sharing a screenshot of the receipt and letting fans know that they "don't have to donate a damn penny," adding, "This is one of many opportunities for the industry powers to show up for artists."
Also! As Stereogum pointed out, Nirvana's Twitter account weighed in on the matter, with Krist Novoselic writing, "When Nirvana signed with a major label, our accountant suggested we join @sagaftra. We did and I have had great health insurance for 35 years."