Chappell Roan Tells Music Exec Who Criticized Her Grammy Speech to Pony Up

"Mr. Rabhan I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth it,’" the Grammy winner wrote on her Instagram story. "Genius!!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.”

By Audra Heinrichs | February 7, 2025 | 4:09pm

Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images Celebrities Notable/Quotable, Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan Tells Music Exec Who Criticized Her Grammy Speech to Pony Up

In this country, it was inevitable that Chappell Roan’s demand that basic human rights be afforded to artists at the Grammy Awards drew criticism. Days after Roan won Best New Artist and rightfully used her acceptance speech as a means to advocate for a livable wage and healthcare, The Hollywood Reporter published an op-ed written by Jeff Rabhan, a music executive and the former chair of New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, to the tune of “Musicians should have rights, but…”

In the piece, Rabhan referred to Roan as an “instant industry insider” and called the speech “a hackneyed and plagiarized script of an artist basking in industry love while broadcasting naïveté and taking aim at the very machine that got her there.”

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“It seems Chappell Roan wants to turn labels into landlords, bosses and insurance providers?” Rabhan wrote, adding: “It is disingenuous to cash a fat label check, ride meaningful industry support to mainstream success and then act like the kid who didn’t get picked for dodgeball when your name is called.”

Let’s quickly recall what Roan actually said on stage, shall we?

“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 health care, especially to developing artists,” she told the crowd. After recounting her own difficult trajectory, in which she was dropped from her label during the pandemic and left without health insurance, she concluded her remarks with: “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”

Personally, I’ve never met a kid who didn’t get picked for dodgeball who’s quite as poignant. Could Rob Han be projecting a bit? Perhaps!

On Friday, Roan took to her Instagram story with a challenge for Rabhan.

“Wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling dropped artists?” she wrote on her story, tagging Rabhan. She included her publicist’s email, writing: “wanna talk?” Then on the next slide, Roan wrote that she’d keep the public posted on a response and include receipts of any actual donations.

“Mr. Rabhan I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth it,’” Roan wrote.”Genius!!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.” Further, she provided links music from “some artists that deserve more love and a bigger platform.” Among them are Hemlocke Springs, Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again and Baby Storme.

As of now, Rabhan has yet to respond but Roan has found allies in industry peers like Halsey, who has since denounced the op-ed in her own Instagram story.

“To compare the payoff of her actions to those of an industry titan with the power and financial leverage of Taylor Swift, when Chappell hasn’t even spun the block enough times to see the residuals of her long earned but sudden success, is irresponsible for someone with your experience in this industry,” Halsey wrote. “Shame on you. Boot licking behavior.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.