At the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Hayley Williams expressed her opinions about Donald Trump, which later drew criticism from Elon Musk for using cue cards.
A user on X posted a video of the Paramore singer reading her statement from cue cards, commenting, “When you realize that these people are ALL paid actors for hire and the Romans treated actors as the lowest members of society on the same level as sanitation and prostitution, everything falls into place.”
Musk responded to the post, saying, “So disappointing,” and added, “She was reading from cue cards,” calling her “just another puppet of the machine” in a separate comment.
During the festival on September 20, Paramore performed five songs at the T-Mobile Arena. While performing ‘Big Man, Little Dignity,’ Williams stated, “Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s playbook for controlling and punishing women, poor people, people of colour, and the LGBTQ community.” She urged Americans to unite against the Trump agenda, emphasizing the importance of voting: “Do you want to live in a dictatorship? Well, show up and vote.”
Following her remarks, Hayley shared another user’s tweet on Instagram, “Remember the video of Paramore’s Hayley Williams bashing Trump and spewing lies about ‘Project 2025’ on stage? Yeah, turns out she was reading a SCRIPT. Who the hell gave it to her? Was she paid or blackmailed? NONE of this stuff is genuine! These ‘celebrities’ are merely given anti-Trump talking points to spew to their fans. It’s all a big show.”
In response, Hayley clarified, “Whoever you are, I typed out my speech and had a crew member hold it near the camera for me in case I got nervous because what I had to say was important and I didn’t want to trip up in the moment. Didn’t end up looking at it though…”
She continued, “That’s because I prepared. Finally, not only was I not paid to make the speech, but we (Paramore) didn’t get paid to play that radio fest either. Just out here kicking a** for free, I guess. Thanks so much for your concern and for spelling my name right, bye!”
This isn’t the first time Williams has shared her political views on stage. In 2023, she criticized Republican candidate Ron DeSantis during a New Jersey concert.
So disappointing
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2024
She was reading from cue cards https://t.co/RguyPnY6QZ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 23, 2024
Just another puppet of the machine
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2024
