Fresh off her Best New Artist win, Chappell Roan turned her Grammys triumph into a rallying cry for musician rights – and when a former record executive tried to shut her down, she was not having a bar of it.
The pop star’s viral 2025 Grammys acceptance speech called out labels for leaving artists without healthcare or livable wages, bluntly sharing her own experience of being dropped by Atlantic Records mid-pandemic: “If my label would have prioritised artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to.”
The reaction to Chappell’s plea was overwhelmingly supportive from fellow artists and fans.
Enter Jeff Rabhan, a former Atlantic and Elektra Records exec, who fired back in a Hollywood Reporter op-ed dismissing her demands as “wildly misinformed”.
He argued that labels aren’t “responsible” for artists’ welfare beyond contracts, adding, “Skin in the game earns a seat at the table. But that table requires a willingness to leave blood on the floor and to put your money where your mouth is.”
Roan responded to the criticism on her Instagram Stories, tagging Rabhan directly, she challenged: “@jeffrabhan wanna match me $25K to donate to struggling dropped artists? My publicist is @biz3publicity let’s talk.”
She promised fans updates on Rabhan’s “much awaited” response, quipping, “Mr. Rabhan, I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is.’ Genius!!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.”
The pop star also took the time to spotlight emerging artists she reckons deserve more love – Hemlocke Springs, Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again and Baby Storme.
Rabhan’s op-ed didn’t just ruffle Roan’s feathers. Singer Halsey wasn’t having Rabhan’s take either, slamming his column as “boot licking behaviour” in a fiery post.
“If you want to profit off of someone else’s art; that artist should have the basic living means to feel safe enough to create that art,” they wrote, calling out the irony of execs “ranting” about accountability while “the ORGANIC MATERIAL [artists] need access to things like health care”.
Meanwhile, Music Healthcare Alliance CEO Tatum Allsep told Billboard he was “jumping on my couch” during Roan’s speech, praising her for kickstarting overdue conversations: “Young artists don’t have to go without if you’re making a living in this industry.”
Rabhan later responded to Chappell on X (formerly Twitter), insisting she should have gone about her response in a different way. “Who thought it was a good idea to publicly challenge an educator to a 25k ‘one-upping’ contest? Really? Do you know what teachers make? Right idea pointed in the wrong direction,” he started.
“Someone around you should have advised you to put up 25k before Sunday to challenge the industry to match –you would have collected from everyone and they would have felt good about doing it on Grammy nite.”
Rabhan claims that his article “was not a personal attack”, rather a “call to action and a warning to avoid the pitfalls of many who walked before you”.
But it looks like Roan’s $25K challenge isn’t going away. As fans await Rabhan’s next move, one thing’s clear: this isn’t a PR stunt from Chappell Roan – it’s a demand for change.
Lead image: Instagram / Getty Images
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