Olivia Rodrigo made headlines last week for providing her fans with free contraception at her US gigs. She played at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri as part of her ongoing Guts tour and was praised encouraging positive sexual health by handing out condoms, lubrication and the emergency contraceptive pill. In the state of Missouri abortion is illegal except in 'cases of medical emergency'.
However, just days after the news went viral it was announced that her fans would no longer be given the free contraception as 'children are present at the concerts' and Olivia's team was conflicted about how it would be construed. Despite praise for the move, she also faced backlash on social media from rightwing commentators who called her a 'high priestesses of child sacrifice' and a 'satanic (abortion) industry plant'. While contraception will no longer be distributed, information, T-shirts and badges will still be provided by the National Network of Abortion Funds which teamed up with Olivia to create booths at all of her US shows amidst limitations across the country.
