Even by MS NOW’s standards, On The Line host Alicia Menendez put forth a stunningly moral and logically upside-down bit of activist journalism on Monday. According to her, not only are celebrities fundraising for abortion saving lives, but doing so also makes them the “profiles in courage” that “we are desperately” looking for.
Menendez began by rewinding to 2022, “when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo told a crowd of thousands, ‘I’m devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this.’”
Yesterday, MS NOW's Alicia Menendez gushed over celebrities raising money for abortion, "Back in 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo told a crowd of thousands, 'I'm devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are… pic.twitter.com/nJdpbkuRoi
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 1, 2026
However, Menendez tried to reassure viewers that all was not lost because, “Well, today, her efforts could save those very lives. Rodrigo held her Daisy Chain Fields, an all-women festival, this weekend. It was inspired by the pop rock feminism of Lilith Fair from the 90s, artists across generations, from Stevie Nicks to Sarah McLaughlin to Chappell Roan, all in hopes of raising money for women's organizations and issues like abortion rights.”
Menendez then gushed, “Going in, Rodrigo raised $10 million. Then billionaire Melinda French Gates pledged to double it to 20 million. At a time when we are looking desperately for profiles in courage, Olivia Rodrigo reminding us that one voice can be the cure.”
Who is “we”? Even if abortion weren’t a barbaric practice, holding a fundraising concert doesn’t exactly require a lot of courage. That abortion is a barbaric practice that, by definition, ends a life instead of saving it; it naturally raises the question: "The cure” for what?
Here is a transcript for the August 31 show:
MS NOW On The Line With Alicia Menendez
8/31/2026
12:54 PM ET
ALICIA MENENDEZ: Back in 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo told a crowd of thousands, “I'm devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this.”
Well, today, her efforts could save those very lives. Rodrigo held her Daisy Chain Fields all-women festival this weekend. It was inspired by the pop rock feminism of Lilith Fair from the 90s, artists across generations, from Stevie Nicks to Sarah McLaughlin to Chappell Roan, all in hopes of raising money for women's organizations and issues like abortion rights.
Going in, Rodrigo raised $10 million. Then billionaire Melinda French Gates pledged to double it to 20 million. At a time when we are looking desperately for profiles in courage, Olivia Rodrigo reminding us that one voice can be the cure.
