As the 2024 presidential race starts to heat up with more than half a dozen republicans already throwing their hats in the ring to take on President Biden, Paramore singer Hayley Williams told New Jersey fans that she’s not afraid to get political from the stage.
In fact, the outspoken vocalist told the crowd at the Adjacent Music Festival in Atlantic City last weekend that if they’re supporting a particular candidate they can take a hike. “I’ll be happy to tell you I’m very f–king comfortable talking politics,” Williams said during Paramore’s headlining set to the screams of fans. “If you vote for Ron DeSantis, you’re f–king dead to me. Is that comfortable enough for anyone?”
It should come as little surprise that Williams is not a fan of the Florida governor and self-proclaimed “anti-woke” warrior who earlier this year signed a series of discriminatory bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community that the Human Rights Campaign called “extreme.” Among them was the so-called “don’t say gay” bill that prohibits educators from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity from pre-K through eighth grade, as well as another bill severely restricting banning gender-affirming care and another that criminalized transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity.
Williams was among the participants at the March 20 Love Rising benefit in Nashville to support Tennessee-based LGBTQ organizations. “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills,” Williams wrote on her Instagram Story in late February, after the Tennessee House passed legislation banning drag performances and gender-affirming care. “We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family and local LGBTQIA+ orgs in this fight, not only for inclusion for our friends and family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them.”
Tennessee native Williams doubled-down, saying that “drag is not a crime… gender-affirming healthcare for all, including our youth, is a necessity.”
Check out Williams’ comments below.
