Sarah McLachlan cites ‘muzzling’ of free speech as she cancels performance at film premiere

Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan cancelled musical performances at Sunday night’s U.S. premiere of the documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery in Los Angeles, citing the “muzzling” of free speech.

While introducing the film at the screening at the Ford Theater, McLachlan — who co-founded the Lilith Fair festival, which highlighted female musicians in the 1990s — announced the cancellations and her reasoning.

 “We have collectively decided not to perform, but instead to stand in solidarity in support of free speech,” McLachlan said in a video taken at the premiere and posted to X by a journalist with The Hollywood Reporter.

The announcement came toward the end of McLachlan’s statement, and garnered a standing ovation from the crowd.

While the performances were set to be a surprise, multiple outlets reported that McLachlan herself and singer-songwriter Jewel, who is featured in the documentary, were supposed to perform. The Hollywood Reporter also said Olivia Rodrigo and Mya were set to take the stage.

“I know you’re expecting a performance tonight, and I’m so grateful to all of you for coming, and I apologize if this is disappointing, but we have collectively decided not to perform but instead to stand in solidarity in support of free speech,” Sarah McLachlan said breaking… <a href=”https://t.co/CteaSYysnl”>pic.twitter.com/CteaSYysnl</a>

Ahead of the screening, McLachlan told the audience she was struggling with what to say in her speech.

“I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with. The stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made; watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech,” McLachlan said in her statement, just before she announced the performances wouldn’t be happening.

The singer didn’t detail what she meant by “the present situation,” but the comments come after the high-profile suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for comments made following the shooting of American conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk.

The Lilith Fair documentary is also being distributed in the U.S. by ABC News Studios — the same network that airs Jimmy Kimmel Live! (CBC helped commission the documentary and is distributing it in Canada.)

Last week, ABC said Kimmel’s show would be “pre-empted indefinitely” after FCC chair Brendan Carr had urged local broadcasters not to air the show. U.S. President Donald Trump cheered the decision in a post on Truth Social (though he wrongly said ABC had cancelled the show) and has since threatened that the government could pull broadcast licences of networks that are “against” the president.

Kimmel still has not spoken publicly about being off the air, though a number of celebrities have come to Kimmel’s defence since he was first taken off air. Canadian actor Tatiana Maslany, who starred in Disney’s show She Hulk, called for viewers to cancel their Disney+, ESPN and Hulu subscriptions. (Disney owns ABC and the two streaming platforms.) 

Trump suggests revoking licences of networks that are ‘against’ him

Fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert also came to Kimmel’s defence, calling Trump an “autocrat” and the decision to pull Kimmel’s show “blatant censorship.”

On Monday, some 400 celebrities signed a statement backing Kimmel and saying we’ve entered a “modern McCarthy era.”

CBC reached out to representatives for McLachlan to further clarify her comments yesterday. They said she was not commenting further.

In her speech, McLachlan went on to say that she didn’t have the answers to the problems she highlighted, but that she hoped the documentary might inspire the audience to “continue to try and create positive change in your communities … keep championing the causes you believe in with kindness and empathy.” 

She also noted that she saw music as a “bridge” to help people overcome their differences.

Lilith Fair is streaming now on CBC Gem in Canada, as well as on Hulu and Disney+ in the U.S.