Hayley Williams Defends Anti-Trump Speech at Paramore iHeartRadio Set: ‘I Prepared’
On the Paramore deep cut “Big Man, Little Dignity,” Hayley Williams takes aim at men who are rarely ever held accountable for their actions. “I memorized all your lies,” she sings on the bridge. During the band’s performance of the song at last weekend’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, the front woman delivered an impassioned speech criticizing Donald Trump and warning fans about Project 2025. Elon Musk and other MAGA figures have since accused her of being “just another puppet of the machine” for having a written version of the speech on standby, but Williams is standing by her decision to be prepared.
“Whoever you are, I typed out my speech and had a crew member hold it near the camera for me in case I got nervous,” Williams wrote on her Instagram story, placing the text over a screenshot of a post claiming she was paid or blackmailed into reading the speech. “What I had to say was important and I didn’t want to trip up in the moment.”
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Because the musician wasn’t being hyperbolic when she said she memorized all the lies of the men causing rampant social and political damage, she didn’t end up needing the prompt anyway. “Didn’t end up looking at it,” Williams continued. “That’s because I prepared.”
On stage, Williams looked directly into the camera and told her audience both in person and online: “Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s playbook for controlling and punishing women, poor people, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. It is time for all Americans to band together and finally defeat the Trump agenda. And the only way to do that is by confronting him at the polls. Do you want to live in the dictatorship? Well, show up and vote.”
The reaction from the MAGA crowd was to be expected. Williams, who has long been vocal about calling for the protection of the groups she mentioned in her speech, has gotten those kinds of groups riled up over lesser things in the past. And she’s always five steps ahead of them when coming to the defense of her words and actions.
“Finally, not only was I *not* paid to make the speech but we (Paramore) didn’t get paid to play that radio fest either,” Williams wrote. “Just out here kicking ass for free I guess ?? Thanks so much for your concern and for spelling my name right, bye!”
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