Musician Olivia Rodrigo was honored by Planned Parenthood of Greater New York at the organization’s Spring Into Action gala in Manhattan on Thursday. The event also honored Amanda Zurawski, a mother who experienced a preterm emergency and who neither needed nor received an induced abortion for her daughter, Willow, who was delivered and did not survive.
According to WWD, Rodrigo was given the “Catalyst of Change” award, presented to her by British singer and actress Lily Allen, another outspoken advocate for abortion.
“Listen, when I started out, being outspoken as a young woman in music meant you were difficult, a troublemaker. God forbid you had an opinion about reproductive rights or bodily autonomy,” Allen said. “But that’s changing now, and it’s because of artists like Olivia.”
These are unusual comments to make, given the fact that many female musicians and actresses have stated that it was expected for them to have abortions for the sake of their careers — and some of them bravely chose life.
Rodrigo accepted the award while rehashing the tired pro-abortion argument that women simply can’t follow their dreams without the ability to kill their preborn children. “We live in a world that politicizes our bodies and uses harmful ideologies to deny us safety and health care. And it breaks my heart to think that, because of oppressive laws and outdated policies, some of those girls may not get to follow their dreams the way I’ve been able to follow mine,” she said.
READ: Olivia Rodrigo’s team halts distribution of emergency contraception at concerts after backlash
Following the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Rodrigo blasted the ruling during a concert.
“I’m devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this,” she said from the stage. She also dedicated the song “F–k You” to the five Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of the Dobbs decision.
“I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a s—t about freedom,” she said at the time.
Rodrigo has been extremely vocal in her support of abortion; in 2024 she launched a “Fund 4 Good” in conjunction with her Guts World Tour, and used a portion of the fund’s proceeds to support abortion travel.
“The Fund 4 Good works to support all women, girls and people seeking reproductive health freedom. The fund will directly support community-based nonprofits that champion things like girls’ education, support reproductive rights, and prevent gender-based violence,” she said at the time, noting that a portion of the proceeds of her ticket sales would go toward abortion travel.
As part of the GUTS tour, Rodrigo partnered with the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) to hand out emergency contraception, lubricants, and condoms at her concerts, though the handouts ceased once online furor erupted regarding dispensing such items to children in attendance at Rodrigo’s performances.
In January 2025, Rodrigo announced her plan to donate $2 million in ticket proceeds from her tour to pro-abortion organizations, including NNAF, which directly pays for abortions.
