Halsey Fans Leave Mid-Show After Pro-Choice Speech: ‘I Don’t Know Why You Came to a Halsey Concert’
Halsey has long been an advocate for women’s rights, and their advocacy has led to the singer-songwriter trending on Twitter over the past couple of days. The singer is currently on their Love and Power Tour, and during a concert stop in Phoenix on June 26, Halsey denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
During a speech encouraging concertgoers to become more politically aware, Halsey also let fans know that if they did not agree with her they could leave the concert, prompting some fans to leave the show.
Halsey gave a pro-choice speech to fans at her ‘Love and Power Tour’ concert
Throughout her Love and Power Tour, Halsey has used the song “Nightmare” to advocate for reproductive rights. During the song, which kicks off the tour’s encore, Halsey displays images of protests and statistics about abortion onscreen.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the statistics highlighted during the bridge of “Nightmare” changed to focus on how this will affect women’s healthcare across the country.
According to Billboard, Halsey also told fans at the concert in Phoenix, “Here in Arizona, you guys got to promise me that you’re gonna do that work so that the person to the left of you and to the right of you has that right for the rest of their lives… If you don’t like it, you can go home right now — I don’t care.”
Halsey added, “If you don’t like it, I don’t know why you came to a Halsey concert because I’ve never been shy that this is how I feel.”
Fans of Halsey reacted to the singer’s pro-choice speech
Following the Phoenix concert, fans of the singer-songwriter discussed Halsey’s advocacy on social media. Some fans who attended the Phoenix show also commented about those in attendance who chose to leave following Halsey’s pro-choice remarks.
“Dude I think that did happen at Phoenix, I swear the crowd thinned noticably…,” one fan wrote on Reddit.
“… I didn’t know conservative halsey ‘fans’ existed,” a Reddit user wrote.
Another Reddit user wrote, “They literally gave Halsey their money and then they walked themselves out!!! Yassss!!”
Because “Nightmare” takes place during the show’s encore, some fans of Halsey pointed out that concert attendees could be leaving due to timing and not because they disagree with Halsey’s messaging.
“Just to put another spin on it, they could’ve also been just leaving before the crowd got massive to leave. I left after nightmare when i saw her but that was to see my favorite song and beat the traffic,” a fan wrote on Reddit.
Halsey will continue to use her concerts as a platform
Following the conversation about her recent concert dates and pro-choice speeches, Halsey took to Twitter to share their opinion about fans walking out of their concerts.
“The ‘people pay to see you sing not hear your views’ argument is so dumb. No, you paid to see me use a stage as a form of expression in the manner that I choose. Sorry you lack the critical thinking to realize that the rhetorical power of music doesn’t always serve your escapism,” the singer wrote in a tweet.
In another tweet, Halsey wrote, “Honored to have my audience. Proud they cultivate a space where emotion and action meet. Love doing what I do. And expect me to always tell the truth when I get up there. Show must go on.”
