Musicians condemn US abortion ruling during Glastonbury performances

Musicians including Billie Eilish, Idles and Phoebe Bridgers have condemned the US Supreme Court decision to overturn a landmark case ending the country’s constitutional right to abortion during their Glastonbury performances.

Singer-songwriter Eilish led criticism during her history-making performance on Friday night as the youngest solo headline performer, hours after it was announced the US court had reversed the 1973 Roe v Wade case that legalised abortion nationwide.

She spoke out against the controversial ruling as she introduced her song Your Power, which explores people abusing their power.

Sitting with her brother Finneas O’Connell, she said: “The song we’re about to do is, I think, one of the favourites that we’ve written and it’s about the concept of power and how we need to always remember how not to abuse it.

“And today is a really, really dark day for women in the US. I’m just going to say that as I cannot bear to think about it any longer in this moment.”

On Instagram, Eilish commented further on the Supreme Court ruling, saying: “This is so unbelievable. The fight isn’t over.”

Joe Talbot, frontman of rock band Idles, was heard to say the court’s decision had taken the US “back to the Middle Ages” during their performance on Friday.

Addressing huge crowds from Glastonbury’s Other stage, he said: “This is for every mother and every woman and her right to choose whether she is a mother or not. Long live the open-minded, long live my mother, and long live every single one of you.”

Meanwhile, American singer-songwriter Bridgers led chants of “F*** the Supreme Court” during her Friday evening performance on the John Peel stage.

Protests took place across the UK after the decision to scrap the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.

The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states.