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Halsey is stepping up to defend Chappell Roan after her powerful speech at the Grammys. Over the weekend, the 26-year-old “Pink Pony Club” hitmaker was awarded Best New Artist at the awards ceremony. She used her acceptance speech as a platform to advocate for emerging artists to receive livable wages and health care from their record labels. Her speech was applauded by artists who attended the ceremony. However, music executive Jeff Rabhan described it as “misguided rhetoric” and called Chappell an “instant industry insider” in a critical essay. Taking to social media, Halsey slammed the piece and came to the other singer’s defense. Keep reading to find out more… The article was published by The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday (February 5). The following day, Halsey replied via her Instagram story. Halsey directly called out the publication and said that they should be “embarrassed of the absolute personal attack” and their “boot licking behavior. You can read her full statement below: “I hope you’re embarrassed of the absolute personal attack that you’ve ran and disguised as critical journalism. This is so far beneath the standard you should uphold as a publication. Jeff Rabhan’s ranting, seething tantrum is loaded with assumptions and accusations that generalize the experience of every artist to that of the most successful. Our industry is comprised of thousands of voices, the elite at the very top of the class are not the example of a monolithic experience for all artists. Advances, seldomly awarded the way they used to be, are for affording survival because your commitment to making art (the label then sells and sometimes takes an absolute majority of) precludes you from working a day job. It’s a game of investment but the investment is toward producing the materials, the person *the ORGANIC MATERIAL* that is producing that product needs access to thinks like health care. Shocking I know. If you want to profit off someone else’s art; that artist should have the basic living means to feel safe enough to create that art. An artist like Chappell who has worked for over a decade is not an ‘instant industry insider’ and to compare the payoff of her actions to those of an industry titan with the power and financial leverage like Taylor swift, when Chappell hasn’t even spun the block enough times to see the residuals of her long earned but sudden success, is irresponsible for someone with your experience in the industry. Shame on you. Boot licking behavior.” Find out more about what Chappell had to say onstage at the Grammys.
