John Legend is speaking out against America’s “authoritarianism” via the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “I can’t watch this s–t happen and not say something,” the singer told The Guardian in an interview published on May 16. “We’re teetering on the brink of not being a full democracy. We’re about to implement The Handmaid’s Tale into law.”
The likening of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion to the 1985 futuristic dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood is a common one among Americans. In the story, which was turned into an extremely popular Hulu TV show, selected women are forced to produce children for the ruling classes and live under a strict, authoritarian theocracy.
“As someone who thought it was an immense tragedy that we allowed Donald Trump to be president for four years, I felt a strong sense of relief at a new regime with someone who actually cared about the country,” John continued to the publication. “I was happy that we were turning the page from what I thought was a dark era in American history. But now I still feel incredibly concerned.”
The “Ordinary People” singer continued by saying how “hard” it feels currently to “enact change” even though human beings “generally want to do the right thing.”
“They’re interested in full power and full authoritarianism,” he continued. “I’m sceptical of the ability to ‘kumbaya’ our way to a solution. We have to fight at this point, and I’m going to do my part.”
Today, @chrissyteigen and I will be donating to @abortionfunds and @keepourclinics to help women afford and access the services they need in a safe and timely fashion. We will do what we can to fight for our fellow citizens and democracy. I hope you will too. pic.twitter.com/uEZwLQu5yn
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 5, 2022
The outlet reported how John then tweeted a few hours later the share with his followers how he and wife Chrissy Teigen were donating to independent abortion providers across the country. “We will do what we can to fight for our fellow citizens and democracy,” he tweeted. “I hope you will too.”
Along with the tweet was a two-page message denouncing the ruling as supposedly “pro-life” when the people enacting the “draconian” ruling don’t support ideas like “health care as a right” or would allow a mother “to die to save an unborn child.”