Charli XCX and other singers are now joining Chappell Roan and donating $25,000 to support emerging artists in the music industry — a direct response to former music executive Jeff Rabhan writing an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter in which he called the pop star "Chappell Groan" and declared she was "too green and too uninformed" to discuss the real issues in the music industry.
via: Billboard
On Saturday (Feb. 8), the 32-year-old British pop star shared on her Instagram Story that, like Kahan, she is matching Roan’s pledge to donate $25,000 to help artists who are struggling to afford healthcare after being dropped by their record labels.
“hey @chappellroan i am going to match your 25k to support artists’ access to healthcare. i saw @noahkahanmusic say that he would do the same and so i thought i’d follow suit,” Charli wrote, alongside a photo of the word “money” with an arrow pointing to her mouth. “your speech at the grammys was inspiring and thoughtful and from a genuine place of care. happy to help get the ball rolling too. money where mouth is xx.”
Charli’s donation was inspired by Kahan, who also shared on his Instagram Story that he would match the financial donation. “Hey @chappellroan, I’m going to match your 25K to support artist’s access to healthcare,” the “Stick Season” singer wrote. “I’m inspired by you. Happy to help get the ball rolling. Money where mouth is!”
During her best new artist acceptance speech at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, Roan called out record labels for failing to provide livable wages or healthcare coverage to their artists, citing her own experience after being dropped by Atlantic Records in 2020.
“If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to,” she told the audience.
In the days that followed, Roan’s comments sparked criticism from former A&R executive Jeff Rabhan, who wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, calling her speech “wildly misinformed.”
Roan responded to Rabhan on social media, challenging him to contribute to the cause. “@jeffrabhan wanna match me $25K to donate to struggling dropped artists?” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “My publicist is @biz3publicity let’s talk.”
The 26-year-old pop star assured her fans that she would keep them “updated on the much awaited @jeffrabhan response,” sharing receipts of any donations, and even directing a final message to the former executive: “Mr. Rabhan, I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is,’” Roan wrote. “Genius !!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.”
Some industry executives and advocates responded positively to Roan’s speech at the Grammys. In an interview with Billboard, the Music Healthcare Alliance’s founder and CEO, Tatum Allsep, said he was “jumping on my couch” when he heard her remarks.
“I was like, ‘Gosh, thank you for bringing this up.’ The conversation was started,” Allsep said. “What’s really important to know for all the young artists who are listening is you don’t have to go without if you are making a living within our industry.”
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