Ariana Grande has made a monetary protest of the recent wave of anti-abortion laws passed in several states.
Grande donated the proceeds from her Saturday concert in Atlanta to Planned Parenthood. The donation totaled around $250,000, People magazine reported.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a “heartbeat” bill into law on May 7. The measure, set to go into effect January 1, would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
Georgia House race becomes new battleground in fight over abortion rights
Hollywood has been protesting the controversial law and threatening to pull productions of movie and television shows that have been lucrative business for the Southeastern state.
But some stars have vowed instead to offer support to those battling the new law.
Filmmakers J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele promised to donate 100% of their episodic fees for their new show, “Lovecraft Country,” which is filmed in the state, to the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and Fair Fight Action, an election reform organization.
Hollywood’s stance against Georgia isn’t as tough as it seems
Other states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky have also recently passed anti-abortion legislation.
Abortion laws in the US: Here are the states pushing to restrict access
Dr. Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement provided to CNN that “Ariana Grande’s generous donation comes at a critical time — in Georgia and across the country, anti-women’s health politicians are trying to ban all safe, legal abortion.”
“This is not what the American people want, nor is it something they’ll stand for,” Wen said. “Thanks to inspiring support like hers, Planned Parenthood can continue to fight back — in the courts, in Congress, in state houses, and in the streets — against these dangerous attacks on people’s health and lives.”
Grande responded Sunday to a fan who had tweeted video of an anti-gay pride protester outside Atlanta’s State Farm Arena before the singer’s stop on her Sweetener World Tour.
In the video, a man with a public address system is seen debating with two women and saying things like “Satan is your God” and “God didn’t make you who you are today.”
Grande tweeted, “Man… saddened but not surprised by this one bit. i’m so sorry any of my fans had to encounter this.
https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/1137768017088122881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1137768017088122881&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2019%2F06%2F12%2Fentertainment%2Fariana-grande-planned-parenthood%2Findex.html
“We will do our best to ensure this doesn’t happen again. proud of u all for not fighting / engaging violently,” she continued. “Never worth it. wishing him peace & a healed heart cause girl yikes.”
CNN has reached out to Grande for comment.
