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According to Sarah McLachlan, the founder of Lilith, the new documentary Lilith Fair: To build a mystery, there was a musical performance cancelled under the name of a mystery this weekend.
McLachlan, 57, spoke to the crowd of the new film, which premiered in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 21, with multiple artists “but instead choosing to stand in solidarity to support freedom of speech,” she said.
The Canadian “Angel” singer didn’t mention comedian Jimmy Kimmel by name, but her pointy comments come less than a week after Kimmel’s long-time late-night ABC talk show was pulled indefinitely by the network after right-wing political commentators Charlie Kirk and President Donald Trump mentioned in a monologue. Kirk was shot dead on September 10th while speaking in Utah.
Lilith Fair: The mystery construction has been distributed by Disney-owned ABC News Studios, and the documentary is streamed on Hulu and Disney+.
“It’s a gift for us all to see (this film) but I’ve also worked on being here tonight about the current situation we are facing, and about being here on the harsh contraction of many advances we’ve seen the sidious erosion of the muzzle of women’s rights, trans and queer rights, and freedom of speech,” the crowd said. “I think we all fear what will come next, but there is nothing we know about, but what I know is that we have to continue moving forward as a woman and an artist.
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McLachlan said if Lilith, a touring event founded in 1997 to combat sexism in the industry, had taught her everything, “we have great power to come together to lift each other, rather than tearing each other apart.”
“So I really hope that this documentary will bring positive change to our community, keep lifting up each other and urging everyone to continue to defend the causes you believe with kindness and empathy, as we are all together,” she said. “I know I’m looking forward to a performance tonight. I’m very grateful to everyone who came. I apologize for the disappointment of this, but we decided to stand in solidarity to support freedom of speech rather than to perform collectively. Thank you, thank you.”
According to the video, the singer’s comments received plenty of applause and a standing ovation from the crowd. Event representatives and McLachlan did not immediately respond to people’s requests for comment.
Event organizers had not announced who was going to perform, but Thr reported that McLachlan was going to perform, and so was Jewel. Olivia Rodrigo, who appeared temporarily in the documentary, is reportedly scheduled to appear for a surprising performance.
On the same day as the event, Rodrigo posted a statement on Instagram stories from Sag-Aftra, which denounced the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show airing.
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“I’m very angry at this blatant censorship and abuse of power,” added Rodrigo. “I stand with Jimmy Kimmel and represent freedom of speech.”
The pop star was one of more than 400 artists working with the ACLU to release Open Letter on Monday, September 22, when Kimmel warned about the “dark moments of free speech” in the wake of the suspension of Kimmel. Other stars who signed the letter include Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and Kelly Washington.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! According to the New York Times, Nexstar Media and Sinclair, which own 63 of ABC’s 205 affiliate stations, were pulled into the air by ABC on September 17 after they said they wouldn’t air the show in light of Kimmel’s comments.
According to a press release, Nexstar recently announced plans to win rival broadcaster Tegna for $6.2 billion for $6.2 billion, further consolidating local television landscapes and placing Nexstar in 80% of American television-owned households. The acquisition requires final approval from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
FCC Chair Brendan Kerr praised Nexstar for putting pressure on ABC to remove Kimmel. “It’s important for broadcasters to push back Disney programming, something they decided they were out of reach of the values of the community,” Carr wrote in X.
