Billie Eilish, the youngest star to perform at the Glastonbury Festival, used her space to protest the US Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to abortion.
“Today is a really, really dark day for women in the US,” the 20-year-old said on the Pyramid Stage.
“I’m just going to say that because I can’t bear to think about it any longer.”
The star then performed “Your Power”, a song about older men who abuse their position, to all those affected by the decision.
On last Friday, the US Supreme Court overturned a 50-year-old ruling known as Roe v Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights nationwide for women. The decision means that millions of women in the US will lose their legal right to abortion, as many of the states have already announced that they will ban abortion and make their own laws about it.
Eilish was not the only artist in Glastonbury to protest the decision. Earlier in the evening, indie-folk star Phoebe Bridgers made a similar statement during her festival debut on the John Peel stage.
“This is my first time here. It’s surreal and amazing but I’m having a real [expletive] day,” she said. Bridgers continued cursing the “old” Supreme Court justices “who try to tell us what to do with our bodies”.
Returning to Eilish, as Glastonbury’s youngest-ever solo act, at age 20, the star emerged on stage shortly after 10pm amid blasts of white noise and sub-bass before performing her opening song, “Bury A Friend”.
Wandering the stage catwalks and twisting her body like a character from The Exorcist, she was met with screams and a lot of excitement from her audience. The show was focused on the “Happier Than Ever” tour, highlighting ‘I Didn’t Change My Number’, ‘NDA’ and ‘Billie Bossa Nova’.
“This is such an honour to be here, right now,” Eilish declared them before playing When The Party’s Over. “Thank you for letting me do this. This is such a trip and a dream.”
Undoubtedly just Billie Eilish’s first performance at Glastonbury.
