NEWS

Yungblud speaks out on Mahsa Amini: “The right to express yourself is your right, and your right alone”

Yungblud spoke out about the death of Mahsa Amini during his set at Firefly Music Festival in Delaware this weekend (September 24).

Amini, 22, died in Tehran earlier this month (September 16) after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. Police claimed she suffered heart failure at the station, although witnesses have claimed Amini was severely beaten by the authorities. Her death has sparked huge protests across Iran.

“I’m so fucking angry right now and every time something in the world happens like this, I ask myself if I’m gonna fucking talk about it or not,” Yungblud said while on stage at the festival. “But there are thousands of you out there and there are thousands watching at home. So today I have no fucking choice. Last week in the country of Iran, a young girl called Mahsa Amini was murdered for wearing her hair outside of her hijab.”

Advertisement

He continued: “I am not gonna stand here and question someone’s religion, but I am gonna fucking fight for expression. I am gonna fight for freedom and I am gonna fight for the women of fucking Iran right now. The right to express yourself is your right and your right alone. Since last week in the country of Iran, the internet has been disabled in some places meaning they cannot communicate with the rest of the fucking world. So it is up to us to talk for them.”

As the musician referred to, the Iranian government has tried to suppress protests by blocking access to apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp, while internet accessibility has also been limited in the most severe internet restrictions in the country since 2019. Protestors have also been shot at by pellets and water cannons and had tear gas used against them.

Other musicians to speak out on Amini’s death include Bebe Rexha and Pearl Jam, who have both shared posts on social media standing with the women of Iran.

Yungblud has often spoken about important social issues on stage, in interviews and on social media. Last year, he was one of many artists to stand against a new abortion law in Texas that, at the time, was the most restrictive abortion legislation in the US.