Over a hundred well-known musicians signed on to a full-page ad in Billboard slamming abortion-restrictive laws passed around the country, calling their campaign “Band Together, Bans Off,” part of Planned Parenthood’s #BansOffMyBody campaign.
The August 24 issue of Billboard carried the ad; artists including LIZZO, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Beck, Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Demi Lovato, G-Eazy, HAIM, Troye Sivan, Macklemore, Hayley Kiyoko, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Carole King, Dua Lipa, and Meghan Trainor, among others, were signatories to the ad, as Broadway World reported.
The ad read:
Freedom is at the foundation of music. Through music we have the power to create, to be as we are as individuals, to speak and live our truth. Access to sexual and reproductive health care is about that same freedom. Because no one is free unless they control their own body. Right now our bodies are under attack in this country. Sweeping bans on access to safe, legal abortions are stripping away our freedoms. Now is the time to band together and say keep your bans off our bodies.
Alexis McGill Johnson, the Acting President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, celebrated:
Abortion access and reproductive health and rights are under attack like never before, and we need everyone to fight back. These bans do not represent the will of the American people, which is why so many powerful, diverse voices are speaking out against them. Planned Parenthood is grateful to these artists for using their incredible platforms to declare that our bodies are our own – if they are not, we can never be truly free or equal. With their help, Planned Parenthood and our supporters will keep fighting to ensure that our patients – and people across the country – can still access reproductive and sexual health care, no matter what.
In June, the CEOs of more than 180 companies took out a similar full-page ad in The New York Times. It read, in part:
Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers … Simply put, it goes against our values and is bad for business. It impairs our ability to build diverse and inclusive workforce pipelines, recruit top talent across the states, and protect the well-being of all the people who keep our businesses thriving day in and out.”
In March, 50 actors sent a letter written by abortion advocate Alyssa Milano to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp threatening the state of Georgia with a boycott if the state passed H.B. 481, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, also known as the “heartbeat bill.” The actors threatened, “We can’t imagine being elected officials who had to say to their constituents, ‘I enacted a law that was so evil, it chased billions of dollars out of our state’s economy.’ It’s not the most effective campaign slogan, but rest assured we’ll make it yours should it come to pass. This is the precipice on which you stand.”
The state passed the bill and Kemp signed it into law.