Olivia Rodrigo will no longer be distributing contraceptives at 'Guts' tour
Emergency contraceptives will no longer be distributed at the stops of Olivia Rodrigo‘s "GUTS World Tour" because of the presence of children at the concerts.
Variety reported that abortion organizers were told to stop handing out free emergency birth control pills, lubrication, condoms, and Plan B.
The decision came from the pop star’s team and was relayed to the abortion organizations by the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), which helped with the set up of booths at the North American tour stops of the tour.
The distribution of reproductive health resources started on March 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
It recently received media attention after a photo of free Plan B handed out during the singer’s St. Louis show made rounds on X.
Addressing the concerns about children’s presence, Stephanie Kraft Sheley, founder of Right By You, told Variety that the idea of the organizers not being thoughtful or careful in doing their work is incorrect.
“Our position is that it does not hurt a young person to see us out in the community doing that work… We’re not having children walk up and grab things off the table that aren’t for children,” she said.
Despite the prohibition, organizers had expressed their praise for Olivia for her support of reproductive health organizations through her initiative Fund 4 Good.
Some are still hoping that the singer’s team’s decision will still change.
The initiative initially received a positive response. However, due to the nature of the issue, it also received backlash, mainly from conservatives.
The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that the 21-year-old artist donated a part of her ticket sales to the NNAF through her initiative.
The Filipino-American artist has also been publicly vocal on her stance on abortion, singing F*ck You with Lily Allen at the Glastonbury Festival in light of the 2022 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion.
"I'm devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this,” she said.