The last two stops of Maggie Rogers’ 2019 Heard It in a Past Life tour wrapped up on October 19 and 20. The singer/songwriter faced verbal sexual harassment at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, last Saturday night. To share the right message, Roger expressed anger about the incident in a letter.
Before Rogers was about to perform her 2016 viral hit “Alaska,” she was giving a speech of gratitude. A male audience member abruptly yelled from the crowd, “take your top off.” Another heckler chimed in as wingman, yelling “you cute though.”
Rogers described the harassment happened in “the most vulnerable part of the set” when she was giving a grateful speech to her fans with the sincerest emotion. The harassment entirely ruined Rogers’ mood. She said, “I step on stage every night and give every part of me.” But every part of Rogers felt hurt. “I was stunned. Furious. Fuming. Confused. And also—on a really basic level—it really hurt my feelings,” she asserted.
The young female artist addressed her opinion on the harassment, “there is no space for harassment or disrespect or degradation of any kind at my show.” She brought up her message, “be kind to each other out there.”
According to Pitchfork, Rogers responded to the verbal harassment with zero-tolerance through a letter post on twitter and Instagram, which currently reads as:
Every night before the Alaska acoustic encore, I speak about gratitude and growth and change. It’s the most vulnerable part of the set. Just me and a guitar before I say goodnight.
Last night, in the middle of this speech a man yelled ‘take your top off.‘ Another joined in and yelled ‘you cute though.’
I was stunned. Furious. Fuming. Confused. And also—on a really basic level—it really hurt my feelings.
I step on stage every night and give every part of me. And my community shows up every night and together, we create a safe space to amplify each other. To allow relief. To allow release. There’s a deep amount of trust there.
I step on stage every night with a deep reverence for the stage, my craft, and the privilege that is making music for my job. I’ve been writing and producing music for 10 years—my body is my greatest tool for communicating that work.
I want to use this moment to be very very clear. There is no space for harassment or disrespect or degradation of any kind at my show.
Be kind to each other out there.
xx
M
Rogers gained wide recognition after she played her song “Alaska” to music guru Pharrell at the master class at New York University. The arising talent debuted her full-length album Heard It in Past Life last year, and officially put her name on the map.
Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer
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