Photo Credit: Chappell Roan by Justin Higuchi / CC by 2.0
Chappell Roan responds to a music exec’s controversial op-ed criticizing her 2025 Grammys speech, challenging him to put his money where his mouth is.
Former music exec Jeff Rabhan’s controversial op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter — in which he criticized Chappell Roan’s Grammy acceptance speech calling for the music industry to offer artists a livable wage and healthcare — has gotten a response from the “Pink Pony Club” singer. In a series of posts to her Instagram Story, Roan challenged Rabhan to match her donation to struggling musicians.
“Mr. Rabhan, I love how you said ‘put your money where your mouth is.’ Genius! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same,” wrote Roan. “Wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling dropped artists?” she continued, tagging Rabhan specifically and using a screenshot of his op-ed as a backdrop. “My publicist is Biz 3 Publicity. Let’s talk.”
In another post, Roan told her fans she would “keep everyone updated on the much awaited” response from Rabhan, and that she’ll “show receipts of the donations.” She also shared a series of posts featuring artists who she feels “deserve more love and a bigger platform,” including Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again, hemlocke springs, and Baby Storme.
Chappell Roan took home the Grammy for Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 2. She used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to advocate for change in the music industry.
“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 healthcare, especially to developing artists,” said Roan.
In response, Rabhan, former chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and the co-founder and CEO of “edutainment” platform Bored of Ed, penned a scathing op-ed piece for The Hollywood Reporter. In it, he criticized the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer for her “naivete” and “uninformed” take on the industry that made her a star.
The article sparked backlash from Roan’s fans and other musicians alike, including Halsey, who took to Instagram to call out Rabhan on what she called “bootlicking behavior.” Halsey also called out The Hollywood Reporter for publishing the piece, saying, “I hope you’re embarrassed of the absolute personal attack that you’ve ran and disguised as critical journalism. […] This is so far beneath the standard you should uphold as a publication.”
Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland explains that artists signed to major labels do have health insurance options available to them through a deal labels signed with the union, called the National Code of Fair Practice for Sound Recordings. However, artists on a label’s roster have an exception for years where the income they generate may not meet eligibility requirements — a common issue facing upcoming artists.