Paramore’s Hayley Williams tells fans they’re “dead to her” if they vote for Ron DeSantis

1 June, 2023

Paramore

Paramore‘s Hayley Williams shared her stance against Ron DeSantis while taking the stage in New Jersey this past weekend (May 27).

While headlining Adjacent Music Festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the frontwoman declared that anyone who votes for the Republican presidential candidate is “dead” to her.

“I’ll be happy to tell you I’m very fucking comfortable talking politics,” Williams told the crowd. “If you vote for Ron DeSantis, you’re fucking dead to me. Is that comfortable enough for anyone?”

DeSantis is the current Republican Governor who has positioned himself as a so-called “anti-woke” crusader. According to a recent NAACP travel advisory, DeSantis’ political directives have made Florida unsafe for people of colour, LGBTQIA+ communities, those who speak with an accent and international travelers. The politician announced his expected presidential bid last week.

This not the first time Williams has spoken out about politics. She is a an adamant supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and earlier this year she performed a cover of Deana Carter’s ‘Did I Shave My Legs For This?’ at Love Rising, a fundraiser for LGBTQIA+ organisations in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

She previously spoke out about the state’s drag ban and trans healthcare bill, sharing a message in her Instagram story that read: “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills.

Paramore perform during the 2023 Boston Calling Music Festival at Harvard Athletic Complex on May 28, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: Taylor Hill / GETTY
Paramore perform during the 2023 Boston Calling Music Festival at Harvard Athletic Complex on May 28, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: Taylor Hill / GETTY

“We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family and local LGBTQIA+ orgs in this fight, not only for inclusion for our friends and family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them.”

She added: “Drag is not a crime. Gender-affirming healthcare for all, including our youth, is a necessity.”

The band discussed their politics in their NME Big Read cover story interview. “When we were younger, only certain types of people in pop culture were allowed to talk shit,” Williams said. “You were doing it in a subversive, very Rage Against The Machine way, or you were very diplomatic. I still don’t feel like we fit into either of those categories, even though a lot of my ideals align more on the extremes.”

Paramore are currently touring in support of their recent sixth album, ‘This Is Why’, which arrived in February via Atlantic. In a five-star review, NME’s Sophie Williams wrote of it: “Paramore are reaching to where, finally, their music has wanted to get to for the best part of the past decade. Rather than try to top their peerless anthems, the band have instead uncovered a new warmth on ‘This Is Why’, and the effect is triumphant indeed.”

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