BBC responds to edit of Olivia Rodrigo’s Roe v. Wade criticism at Glastonbury
The corporation says the decision to edit out the duo’s performance of ‘F*** You’ from iPlayer was ‘made solely because of the strong language used throughout’
The BBC has responded to its decision to edit a portion of Olivia Rodrigo’s Glastonbury performance from iPlayer, in which the American singer criticised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a Mississippi law that outlaws abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy, and overturned precedents established by the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. During her Glastonbury performance the following day, Rodrigo brought out special guest Lily Allen to perform the latter’s 2009 song ‘F*ck You’, which she dedicated to the Supreme Court over their decision.
“I’m devastated and terrified and so many women and girls are going to die because of this,” Rodrigo said. “I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who showed us at the end of the day they truly don’t give a s*** about freedom.”
While the performance was broadcast by the BBC, this section was subsequently cut from the version on iPlayer, leading to criticism of the corporation from social media users.
In a comment to Rolling Stone UK, the BBC clarified the edit, saying: “The decision to edit this section of the performance was made solely because of the strong language used throughout. There were no other factors involved in this decision.”
Rodrigo and Allen’s performance is available on YouTube, while comments made by other artists including Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES and Billie Eilish during their Glastonbury performances have also been broadcast on BBC platforms.