At Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday night, Billie Eilish admitted that she “couldn’t really fathom” the idea of getting on stage to perform that night. The musician had been feeling the heavy weight of Donald Trump‘s win in the presidential election. Earlier in the day, she took to social media to declare that it represents a “war on women.” But Eilish recognized that her concert could serve as a moment of respite for the young girls and women in the audience who share the same fear and concerns that she does.
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“The longer the day went on, I kind of had this feeling of like, it’s such a privilege that I get to do this with you guys and that we have this in a time like right now,” Eilish told the crowd before playing “T.V.,” a record released in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned. “I want you to know that you’re safe with me, and you’re protected here, and that you are safe in this room. And the song that we’re about to do is … about the abuse that exists in this world upon women and a lot of the experiences that I have gone through and people I know have gone through. To tell you the truth, I’ve never met one single woman who doesn’t have a story of abuse. Not one.”
She added: “I’ve dealt with some stuff myself and I’ve been taken advantage of. My boundaries were crossed, to say it politely, and now a person who is a … let’s say convicted predator, let’s say that — god, my heart is beating fast — someone who hates women so, so deeply is about to be the president of the United States of America. So, this song is for all the women out there. I love you, I support you.”
On the other side of the country, performing at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Sabrina Carpenter shared similar sentiments with her audience on Wednesday night. “I hope we can be a moment of peace for you, a moment of safety,” she said. “Sorry about our country and to the women in here. I love you so, so, so, so, so much, and I really hope for the rest of this night that you can enjoy yourselves because you absolutely deserve it.”
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Earlier this week, the nonprofit organization HeadCount reported that more than 35,000 people registered to vote through activations and outreach sponsored by Carpenter on her Short n’ Sweet tour. More than 263,000 votes checked their registration status, confirmed their polling location, and engaged in other ways through the same activations. Carpenter racked up the most voter engagements through HeadCount of any artist this year.
In 2022, Eilish partnered with HeadCount to encourage fans to vote in the midterm elections. “With what is going on in our country, we need to get out to the polls and vote for what we believe in,” she said at the time. “Not showing up is not an option.”
