Maggie Rogers has condemned hecklers who demanded she remove her top on stage, saying: “There is no space for harassment or disrespect or degradation of any kind at my show.”
Following a performance in Austin, Texas over the weekend, the singer wrote on Twitter that she had heard an audience member shout “take your top off” and another man join in with “you cute though”.
“I was stunned,” wrote Rogers. “Furious. Fuming. Confused. And also – on a really basic level – it really hurt my feelings.
“I step on stage every night and give every part of me. And my community shows up every night and together, we create a safe space to amplify each other. To allow relief. To allow release. There’s a deep amount of trust there.”
She continued: “I step on stage every night with a deep reverence for the stage, my craft, and the privilege that is making music for my job. I’ve been writing and producing music for 10 years – my body is my greatest tool for communicating that work.”
Rogers warned hecklers: “I want to use this moment to be moment to be very very clear. There is no space for harassment or disrespect or degradation of any kind at my show.”
The singer’s debut album Heard It In A Past Life, which she is currently touring in the US, was released in January.
Rogers was discovered after a YouTube video of Pharrell hearing her breakout song "Alaska" went viral.
In an interview with The Independent earlier this year, Rogers spoke about the overwhelming anxiety that accompanied her success, and her experience of having a panic attack during a live show.
