Fiona Apple to donate 2 years of royalties to charity

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve seen the cult of celebrity crumble before our very eyes. Hollywood has left a sour taste in our mouths with their feeble attempts at activism. From millionaires sharing their $50 donations to Black Lives Matter-adjacent charities, to the cringe-inducing, star-studded ‘I Take Responsibility’ video, it’s been a golden era for vapid virtue-signalling. Amongst all the performative, delusional celebrity antics, there are a few using their platform to instigate tangible change. Fiona Apple, in all her eternal glory, is one of them.

Apple has pledged to donate all proceeds from television and movie syncs of her Fetch the Bolt Cutters cuts ‘Shameika’ and ‘Heavy Balloon’ to two different charities over the next two years.

Royalties from ‘Shameika’ will be dedicated to The Harlem Children’s Zone — a non-profit organisation that offers free support to children and families living in Harlem. Proceed from ‘Heavy Balloon will be directed to Indigenous Womxn-led resistance Seeding Sovereignty, a collective that aims to dismantle colonial institutions and replace them with Indigenous practices.

In 2019, Fiona Apple pledged to donate the 2019 and 2020 royalties from ‘Criminal’ to an organisation that helps US border refugees.

“In the past I have used my ‘Criminal’ money to help friends or family. However, after months and months of reading the news about how my country is treating refugees, I’ve become gutted with frustration trying to figure out the best way to help,” she wrote in a statement at the time.

Fiona Apple donated the royalties to While They Wait, an organisation that provides refugees with basic necessities, legal assistance, and immigration fees.

“What they need is representation and guidance because these people are being prosecuted as criminals just for asking for asylum,” she wrote. “When they are separated from their children they need help navigating the system.”