Kendrick Lamar closes Glastonbury headline set with “Godspeed for women’s rights” chant: Watch

Kendrick Lamar closed his headline Glastonbury set with an emotionally charged chant for women’s right, days after the US Supreme Court made the decision to overturn Roe v Wade. 

The Californian rapper topped the bill at the festival’s iconic Pyramid Stage on Sunday night, 26th June, finishing his performance with the track ‘Saviour’, taken from the album ‘Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers’. At the end of the song, he launched into a repeated chant, declaring: “They judge you, they judged Christ. Godspeed for women’s rights’, before leaving the stage as fake blood poured from his crown of thorns.  You can watch the full performance below. 

Sending a clear message to both festival goers and the watching world, the show took place just days after the Supreme Court took the decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade court judgement, which put in place legal protections for the right to access abortions in United States. Following the decision to overturn this, some 26 of the 50 United States are expected to impose bans on abortion, with Louisiana and Tennessee among those unlikely to make exemptions for cases of rape and incest. 

Lamar was just one of a number of major acts at this year’s Glastonbury to speak out against the decision to overturn Roe v Wade during their performance. Billie Eilish, who became the youngest headliner in the event’s history on Friday 24th June and the first woman to top the line-up for both Glastonbury and Coachella in the same year, Olivia Rodrigo, who dedicated her cover of Lily Allan’s ‘Fuck You’ to individual members of the US Supreme Court, and Phoebe Bridgers all made statements on stage.

Lorde changed a monologue in her song ‘Secrets From A Girl’ to tackle the issue head-on, ending with a simple message: “F!ck the Supreme Court.” 

Last week, Lamar paid tribute to the late Virgil Abloh during a Louis Vuitton Men’s Spring/Summer 2023 catwalk event during Paris Fashion Week. He also played Milano Summer Festival in Italy before heading to Glastonbury. The artist will next return to the UK and Ireland for live dates in November.