Halsey stands by Chappell Roan as ‘Hollywood Reporter’ Op-Ed criticizes Grammys speech

Last Sunday night, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, better known as Chappell Roan, accepted the trophy for Best New Artist at the 2025 Grammys, following the ultra-massive success of her single “Good Luck, Babe!”

When she took the podium, she thanked her fans and everyone who had helped her along her path in her speech. However, she also used her platform to call out the music industry’s treatment of young artists. Roan emphasized how important it was for labels to give their young artists a livable wage and medical insurance, recalling how the pandemic was a tough time for her and her many of her up-and-coming peers.

“Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” she said to a standing ovation from her peers.

The problem arose as The Hollywood Reporter published a guest column on Wednesday titled “Chappell Groan: The Misguided Rhetoric of an Instant Industry Insider”, written by Jeff Rabhan; a music journalist and label executive. In the piece, Rabhan criticized the young artist’s speech, saying she is “far too green and uninformed” for advocating for the labels’ obligation to provide basic securities to their stars.

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Halsey has Chappell Roan’s back

Halsey, however, did not agree with Jeff Rabhan. In an Instagram story, the “Without me” singer tagged him and let everyone know what she thought of his column. “I hope you’re embarrassed of the absolute personal attack that you’ve ran and disguised as critical journalism”.

Jeff Rabhan called Chappell Roan an “elite” in his column and told her “put your money where your mouth is”. He also compared her to artists like Prince, Tom Petty and Taylor Swift, who also fought their own battles against the industry.

Halsey directly criticized this comparison in her Instagram story post: “An artist like Chappell, who has worked for over a decade, is not an ‘instant industry insider,’ and to compare the payoff of her actions to those of an industry titan like 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.”

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Chappell Roan responds to the criticism

Earlier today, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer took a page out of Halsey’s book and directly responded to Jeff Rabhan’s criticism—specifically, the part where he said she should create a fund for struggling artists and demand her fellow peers match her donation. She tagged him, saying:

“Hey @jeffrabhan, wanna match [me] $25K to donate to struggling dropped artists? My publicist is @biz3publicity, let’s talk”.

In another story, Roan posted a selfie of herself without her usual makeup, saying she would keep everyone updated about Jeff Rabhan’s response and would show the receipts of the donations.

“Mr. Rabhan, I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is.’ Genius!!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same 🔥🔥🔥”, Roan posted.

The “Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” singer also used this opportunity to uplift other artists, such as Hemlocke Springs, Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again, and Baby Storme. In Chappell Roan’s own words, they “deserve more love and a bigger platform.”