Chappell Roan didn’t just win Best New Artist at the 2025 Grammys. She used her moment to call out the industry and stand up for trans rights. If you weren’t already obsessed with her, this might just push you over the edge.
Before she even stepped onto the stage to accept her award, Roan made a statement on the red carpet, speaking out for trans rights. “Trans people have always existed, and they will forever exist. And they will never, no matter what happens, take trans joy away, and that has to be protected more than anything.”
Given the current political climate, where trans rights are constantly under attack, this was a direct challenge to anyone trying to erase or suppress an entire community.
And then, she won. Best New Artist. The moment could’ve been just about her, about basking in the glory of an award that’s launched careers into the stratosphere. Instead, she took the opportunity to put the music industry on blast.
“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy…I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists.”
It’s the kind of thing that’s been whispered about in back rooms and lamented on social media but rarely said this loudly on such a massive stage. Roan, who was first signed as a minor, spoke from experience. When she was later dropped by her label, she had no job history, struggled to find work during the pandemic, and couldn’t afford health insurance.
“It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system,” she said before laying down the challenge: “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
It’s a brutal truth that the music industry loves to celebrate artists but doesn’t always do much to actually support them. Roan’s speech was a demand for systemic change, the kind that could genuinely make life better for countless musicians grinding to make a living.
Read Chappell Roan’s full acceptance speech below:
“Thank you to my fellow nominees, who got me through this year. Brat was the best night of my life this year. My hat’s gonna fall, and it’s gonna be ok. Thank you all who listened to get me here today, and Dan and Island Records, Amusement Records, my friends and my family. And above all, my papa Chappell, who I named myself after.
I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists.
Because I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor, and when I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance. It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanised to not have healthcare. And if my label would have prioritised artists’ health, I would have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to. So, record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance protection.
Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
Between her unwavering support for trans rights and her fearless industry callout, Roan proved she’s not just here to make bangers (though she’s great at that, too). She’s here to make history. And we love to see it. Thank you, Chappell. Stay unruly.
