Janelle Monae got political during her Glastonbury performance.
Janelle Monae’s performance on Sunday (30 June) on the West Holts stage at Glastonbury saw the Grammy-nominated singer call for the impeachment of Donald Trump. In an impassioned speech, she also spoke about the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, black women and women generally, and immigrants, saying: “We must fight for the rights of immigrants. We must fight for the rights of LGBTQIA people, of black people, of women. And we must impeach Donald Trump.”
Monae’s arrival on stage last night was soundtracked by the sound of Martin Luther King’s voice, before opening with Crazy, Classic Life. Her set drew mostly from her third album Dirty Computer, which arrived in 2018 as a powerful call to arms for black female power and queer rights.
The singer also expressed her love of Glastonbury and her pride in being able to perform at the festival: “No matter who you love or how you love, you are welcome in my house anytime. As a young, queer, black woman in America, I’m honoured to be here. I’m proud to be here.”
As ever, Monae had donned an impeccable suit for her performance, which she unbuttoned to reveal a checkerboard one-piece. She ended her set by crossing the barrier between her and the audience, submerging herself into the crowd. Monae is among several artists to make political statements during this year’s festival, including Stomzy who called out Boris Johnson during Friday nights headline set.
Revisit our Long Read on Janelle Monae’s political and subversive new material, and read our review of Dirty Computer here.
