Olivia Rodrigo, during her St. Louis concert, distributed free condoms and morning-after pills while committing a portion of her tour's ticket sales to abortion funds through her initiative, Fund 4 Good.
The Grammy-winning artist, through her fund established in collaboration with the tour, will team up with local chapters of the National Network of Abortion Funds to "ensure those most impacted by systemic racism, misogyny, and healthcare barriers can get the reproductive care they deserve," according to its page on the Entertainment Industry Foundation website.
During her St. Louis stop Tuesday, Rodrigo collaborated with the Missouri Abortion Fund to distribute Julie morning-after pills to concertgoers, The Hollywood Reporter noted.
One fan, Madelyn Ritter, who attended the event, confirmed to The Guardian that a table was set up by the women’s bathrooms where concertgoers could donate to abortion funds and pick up free condoms and morning-after pills.
"We noticed it immediately," said Ritter, 25. "I was like: ‘What’s this about?’ They told me it was free, so my sister, her friend and I all took some. I personally don’t need it, but I’m going to save it in case something bad happens."
Abortion is only allowed in emergencies in Missouri, where Republicans are pushing to defund Planned Parenthood.
Staffing the table where Ritter stopped by were activists from Right by You and the Missouri Abortion Fund, which provide support for teens seeking abortion care and assistance with out-of-state procedures.
Stephanie Kraft Sheley, project director of Right by You, told The Guardian that Rodrigo had not specifically asked for the organization to hand out emergency contraception.
"She invited us, but it was our decision to bring it and hand it out," Sheley said. "It fills my heart with so much joy and gratitude to Olivia, and it shows how well received it will be when other artists step up and do this. I hope they follow this example."
In a statement to USA Today, Oriaku Njoku, National Network of Abortion Funds executive director, confirmed their partnership with Rodrigo.
"We are excited to be in partnership with Olivia Rodrigo, as she’s uplifting the critical work of abortion funds, and leading (her fans) into the movement towards reproductive freedom!" said Njoku.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.