Charli XCX and other singers are now joining Chappell Roan and donating $25,000 to support emerging artists in the music industry — a direct response to former music executive Jeff Rabhan writing an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter in which he called the pop star "Chappell Groan" and declared she was "too green and too uninformed" to discuss the real issues in the music industry.
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One day after that op-ed was published, Roan challenged Rabhan to donate $25,000 in support of emerging artists, noting that it was more productive to use their platforms by helping new and struggling musicians instead of tearing apart her acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 2025 Grammys.
Roan committed to showing receipts and sharing updates about Rabhan's donation, which she would match. While the first responses to Roan's clapback came from artists such as Halsey and Justin Tranter defending the pop star, other musicians are now literally joining that challenge by also donating $25,000 to new artists.
Charli XCX via Instagram story.
Instagram (@charli_xcx)
On Saturday, Feb. 8, Charli XCX wrote a very Brat message via Instagram story to announce that she was joining Chappell Roan's challenge.
The "Girl, so confusing" singer wrote:
"Hey [Chappell Roan,] I am going to match your $25k to support artist's access to healthcare. I saw [Noah Kahan] say that he would do the same and so I thought I'd follow suit. Your speech at the Grammys was inspiring and thoughtful and from a genuine place of care. Happy to help get the ball rolling too. Money where my mouth is."
Noah Kahan via Instagram story.
Instagram (@noahkahanmusic)
Noah Kahan was referenced in Charli XCX's post given that he had already announced his donation of $25,000 to new artists earlier on Saturday. He wrote in an Instagram story:
"Hey [Chappell Roan], I'm going to match your 25k to support artist's access to healthcare. I'm inspired by you. Happy to help get the ball rolling. Money where my mouth is!"
Notable support also came from Justin Tranter — one of the most successful songwriters of our time, who also cowrote Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!" — with a comment under the Hollywood Reporter's Instagram post promoting Rabhan's "Chappell Groan" op-ed.
"Please delete this," Tranter wrote.
Halsey also defended Roan via Instagram story, as reported by Rolling Stone. The singer wrote:
"Rabhan's ranting, seething tantrum is loaded with assumptions and accusations that generalize the experience of every artist to that of the most successful. Our industry is comprised of thousands of voices, the elite at the very top of the class are not the example of a monolithic experience of all artists."
