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On Friday, September 20, with fewer than 50 days to go until the 2024 presidential election, Paramore singer Hayley Williams spoke out against former president Donald Trump and urged her fans to vote, warning about the dangers that a second Trump administration would present, especially to the LGBTQ+ community.
Before playing “Big Man, Little Dignity” at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, which was livestreamed via Hulu, Williams took a moment to lean over the stage and speak directly into the camera.
“Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s playbook for the controlling and punishing of women, poor people, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “It is time for all Americans to band together and to finally defeat the Trump agenda. And the only way to do that is by confronting him at the polls.”
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Williams was referring to a policy blueprint published by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ organization, which outlines a plan to further shape American society and public policy in the image of Christian nationalism. Trump has disavowed any connection to Project 2025 in light of its deep unpopularity with voters, but many of his own policy proposals, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ people, bear a strong resemblance to those contained in the document. Trump’s Agenda47 calls for federal restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, an ending to legal recognition for trans people on identity documents, and promoting “positive education about the nuclear family.” Project 2025 calls for all of those things, and more.
Williams finished her remarks by standing up and yelling, “Do you wanna live in a dictatorship? Well, show up and vote!” before launching into “Big Man, Little Dignity” — which, fittingly, is a send-up of the ways that men are able to escape accountability for their actions and remain in positions of power.
This is far from the first time that Williams has spoken out about politics, and specifically about issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. Paramore has condemned homophobia and “bigotry of any kind” at their shows, and Williams has made it her mission to stand up for those who “punk music actually represents,” namely women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color. She has also condemned Tennessee’s anti-drag and anti-trans health care laws, while maintaining a queer hair salon in Nashville.
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