Most viewers were big fans of Chappell Roan’s showing at the Grammys, from her stunning performance of “Pink Pony Club” to her impassioned speech after winning Best New Artist. Roan used the platform to advocate for struggling artists, who she said deserve more protections from their labels, including health care. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” she asked to end the speech.
But one very vocal critic of Roan’s decided to respond with an op-ed in The Hollywood Reporter. Former music executive Jeff Rabhan tore into Roan in his article, calling her speech “a hackneyed and plagiarized script of an artist basking in industry love while broadcasting naïveté and taking aim at the very machine that got her there.”
One of Rabhan’s recommendations for Roan was to “put your money where your mouth is and invest in new models of artist compensation instead of expecting labels to change overnight.”
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“I know that is kind of controversial for me to say on the Grammy carpet, but I actually think that’s why I’m calm about stuff,” Roan said.
“I’ve built a great friendship with her and her wife,” the Chiefs quarterback said of Swift at a press conference.
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The world didn’t take kindly to Rabhan’s article, which came off as wildly patronizing and resistant to the positive changes Roan was suggesting. But Roan herself had been silent on the article — until this morning, that is.
On her Instagram story, Roan posted a screenshot of the article, along with a challenge for Rabhan. “@jeffrabhan wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling dropped artists ?” she asked, then directed Rabhan to her publicist, writing, “let’s talk.”
In another story, she wrote, “Will keep everyone updated on the much awaited @jeffrabhan response!! And I will show receipts of the donations <3”
“Mr. Rabhan I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is,’” she added. “Genius !!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same 🔥🔥🔥”
“In the meantime , here are some artists that deserve more love and a bigger platform,” Roan wrote in a follow-up post, going on to shout out emerging artists hemlocke springs, Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again, and Baby Storme. Now that’s how you put your money (and your platform) where your mouth is.
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