Chappell Roan Challenges Writer Who Slammed Her Grammys Speech to Match $25,000 Donation for Struggling Musicians

The controversy continued over a Hollywood reporters on-ed regarding Chappell Roan’s Grammy night speech in which she called for record labels to support artists with “a livable wage and health care”: Early Friday, the singer challenged the writer of the article to match her $25,000 donation to an unnamed fund for “struggling” artists who have lost their record deals.

“Wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling dropped artists?,” she wrote on her Instagram storytagging the writer. She gave her publicist’s Instagram and wrote, “wanna talk?”

“Will keep everyone updated on the much awaited response!!,” she continued. “And I will show receipts of the donations <3. Mr. Rabhan I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth it.’ Genius!!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.”

In her speech, Roan recalled the challenges she had faced after being dropped from Atlantic Records, to which she’d signed as a 16-year-old, and how difficult it was to find work and affordable health care. Jeff Rabhan, former chair of New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, criticized Roan in the op-ed for naivite about the workings of the music business and challenged her to back up her words with action.

In a series of follow-up posts, Roan then posted links to the music of “some artists that deserve more love and a bigger platform”: Hemlocke Springs, Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again and Baby Storme.

During her speech accepting the Grammy Award for best new artist on Sunday night, Roan gave a speech calling on record labels to support developing artists with “a livable wage and health care.”

“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy, and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry, profiting millions of dollars off of artists, would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she began, before recounting her struggles and concluding: “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”