Paramore have teamed up with fashion designer Bug Girl for a merch collaboration to benefit Medical Aid for Palestinians.
In a video posted to Instagram, Bug Girl said that she had met the band when they were opening for Taylor Swift on the ‘Eras’ tour. Frontwoman Hayley Williams had been seen wearing a version of Bug Girl’s ‘feminine rage’ t-shirt, which features a photo of a younger Taylor Swift. Williams had cut the t-shirt and stitched it into a jacket, which she wore on stage, and tagged the brand owner in a photo posted after the show.
Williams’ team then contacted Bug Girl, offering her the chance to do a merch collaboration with Paramore. All proceeds from the collaboration will be donated to Medical Aid For Palestinians.
“Hi this is Bug Girl / Maddie Sinclair! I’ve been donating 100% of my profits since May and have been able to donate roughly $10,000 to gofundme’s for families needing evacuation and MAP (medical aid for Palestinians),” said Bug Girl on Reddit. “Hayley / Paramore reached out to see if we could do a collab that continues donating 100% of profits to aid, and I said FUCK YEAH. Hoping it’ll be out next Friday, have to send some tees to Hayley to get some pics for my site on Tuesday and then we’re GOOD TO GO once we get those! 🙂 Once the collab is finished I’ll be sharing the total donations from this collab and exactly where they went.”
In May, Paramore first made a call for donations to support aid to Gaza as Israel intensified its military operations in Rafah, having also previously supported Save the Children. They also encouraged donations to Doctors Without Borders’ Emergency Fund.
They also said: “We do not believe that support for our Palestinian friends and family equals anti-Semitism. We love our Jewish friends and family and pray for the safe return of the remaining hostages. That being said, we simply cannot support a genocide.
“We stand in solidarity with those calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”
In other news, Paramore recently reflected on their time opening for Swift on the ‘Eras’ tour.
“Thank you for asking us to be a part of such an incredible moment in your life and career,” they said on social media. “We loved playing for the Swifties, we loved watching you tell your life story through this show. And we truly fell in love with your whole crew. Congrats on one more leg of this giant, history making tour. We love you! – Paramore,” read the photo’s accompanying caption.”
