Sarah McLachlan took a stand for free speech while opting out of performing at the premiere of the ABC News Studios doc Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery.
McLachlan, 57, and Jewel were scheduled to perform at the Los Angeles event on Sunday, September 21. According to Variety, ABC News Studios announced one day prior that there would no longer be a red carpet, noting in an email, “We appreciate your willingness to attend and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
No reason was specified for the cancellation. Deadline later reported that McLachlan gave an impassioned introduction at Sunday’s premiere, during which she revealed there would be no musical performances.
“It’s a gift for all of us to see [this film], but also I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech,” McLachlan said. “I think we’re all fearful for what comes next, and none of us know, but what I do know is that I have to keep pushing forward as an artist, as a woman to find a way through, and though I don’t begin to know what the answer is, I believe we all need to work towards a softening to let in the possibility of a better way, because I see music as a bridge to our shared humanity, to finding common ground.”
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McLachlan, who cofounded the Lilith Fair festival in the late ’90s, continued: “If Lilith taught me anything, it taught me there is a great strength in coming together to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. So I really hope this documentary inspires everyone to continue to try and create positive change in your communities, to keep lifting each other up, keep championing the causes you believe in with kindness and empathy because ultimately we’re all in this together.”
Noting she felt “so grateful” to have the support of all the attendees, McLachlan explained why she wasn’t singing that night.
“I apologize if this is disappointing, but we have collectively decided not to perform but instead to stand in solidarity in support of free speech,” she said. “Thank you for your understanding.”
McLachlan’s comments come less than a week after ABC abruptly pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the air amid backlash over the host’s controversial monologue referencing Charlie Kirk‘s death. A spokesperson for the network confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 17, that Jimmy Kimmel‘s late night show would be “pre-empted indefinitely.”
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Kimmel, 57, has yet to publicly address his removal from the network, but fellow comedians and Hollywood stars have shown him support. More than 170,000 people have signed a MoveOn.Org petition slamming the “blatant attack on free speech” and calling for Kimmel’s reinstatement. Others have gone one step further by canceling subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. (Disney is the parent company of ABC.)
As the fallout continues, John Oliver weighed in on the suspension during Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight, urging Disney and ABC to “stand by Kimmel and his staff.”
“ABC and its parent company Disney still have a chance to do the right thing here. … Giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away, it just makes him come back hungrier each time. They are never going to stop,” he said. “At some point, you’re going to have to try to draw a line. Why not draw it right here?”
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
