At Lorde‘s Glastonbury festival performance Sunday (June 26), she joined the list of several other artists in taking stage time to blast the Supreme Court for its recent overturning of Roe v. Wade — the 1973 landmark case that had guaranteed women’s federal right to abortion for nearly 50 years.
Performing her Solar Power album cut “Secrets From a Girl (Who’s Seen It All),” the 25-year-old New Zealander first began by reciting the song’s spoken work outro originally performed on the record by Robyn: “Welcome to sadness. The temperature is unbearable until you face it.” But then, she went off script for an impassioned speech reminding her female fans just how sacred their right to choose for themselves is — or should be.
“Wanna hear a secret, girls?” she said dryly, referencing her song’s title. “Your bodies were destined to be controlled and objectified since before you were born. That horror is your birthright.”
“But here’s another secret,” she continued. “You possess ancient strength, ancient wisdom. Wisdom that has propelled every woman that came before you. That wisdom is also your birthright. I ask you today, make accessing that wisdom your life’s work. Because everything depends on it.”
The “Mood Ring” singer concluded her speech with a direct callout to the Supreme Court, whose 5-4 vote to overturn Roe was officially announced Friday (June 24). “F–k the Supreme Court,” she added.
Lorde is far from the first musician to denounce the court’s decision, nor is she the only artist to use her Glastonbury stage time this weekend to do so. Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kendrick Lamar all had moments in their festival sets dedicated to speaking out about the ruling, with Rodrigo saying she was “devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this.”
Watch Lorde condemn the Supreme Court during her Glastonbury set below:
Lorde changed the ending monologue of “Secrets from a Girl” due to recent events regarding women’s rights in the US. pic.twitter.com/VW7iULmhCx
— Lorde Updates ☀️ (@LordeUpdatesBR) June 26, 2022
