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Paramore’s Hayley Williams speaks out against anti-LGBTQ laws

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ABC/Randy Holmes

Paramore‘s Hayley Williams is speaking out against the rising number of bills that target the LGBTQ community, specifically trans persons and drag artists.

Tennessee native Williams spoke out against legislation passed in her home state that will criminalize drag performances and ban gender confirmation health care for young people. According to NME, Williams wrote in her now-disappeared Instagram Story, “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills.”

She continued, “We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family and local LGBTQIA+ orgs in this fight, not only for inclusion for our friends and family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them. Drag is not a crime. Gender-affirming healthcare for all, including our youth, is a necessity.”

Paramore has also marched for social justice and donated tour proceeds to abortion access charities. As Williams told NME earlier this year about the band’s political activities, “When we were younger, only certain types of people in pop culture were allowed to talk s**t. You were doing it in a subversive, very Rage Against The Machine way, or you were very diplomatic.”

“I still don’t feel like we fit into either of those categories, even though a lot of my ideals align more on the extremes,” she added. 

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