Since the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, giving states the right to ban abortion last week, many artists have used their platforms to sharply speak out against the ruling, including Kendrick Lamar. Over the weekend demonstrations broke out across the country, decrying the end of the country's constitutional protections for abortions that had been in place for almost 50 years.
During his closing set at Glastonbury, Kendrick, wearing the same diamond-encrusted crown of thorns he wore on the cover of his latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, told the crowd of thousands, "I wear this crown. They judge Christ. They judge you, they judge Christ," as fake blood dripped from the crown and down his face, covering his white shirt.
Kendrick, who was initially slated to perform at the 50th anniversary of the festival in 2020 but had his performance delayed because of the pandemic, ran through several of his songs from his latest introspective album, including fan-favorites, "N95" and "United in Grief." He also performed songs from his previous albums including "Humble" from his Pultizer Prize-winning effort DAMN. and "Alright" from To Pimp A Butterfly.
But it was at the end of his performance of "Savior" that Kendrick made his thoughts about women's rights known, saying, "They judge you, they judge Christ. Godspeed for women's rights," several times before exiting the stage and leaving his dancers posing solemnly on stage.
You can check out the performance below.