The Aussie music world is in shock after Hayley Mary, frontwoman of Sydney indie outfit The Jezabels, posted a photo of herself wearing a MAGA hat, claiming it’s all about standing up for free speech.
Her post, meant as a protest against Australia’s Misinformation Bill, quickly went viral, sparking outrage among fellow artists such as Briggs, Kira Puru, Hatchie, Exhibitionist, and Beks, who slammed the singer’s statement in the comments.
In her lengthy Instagram post, Hayley declared, “Today is a dark day in Australia… Not because 73 million people legitimately elected the 47th President of the USA, but because while we were hysterically screaming and crying into Instagram about it, our own government was rushing through the final reading of a Misinformation Bill that seriously suppresses freedom of speech of ALL PEOPLE in THIS COUNTRY.”
She went on to admit she knew her post might not be popular, adding, “I will almost definitely lose friends and income with this post, but I’ve lived in self-censorship in the super-woke music industry for years now, and it starts to grate at one’s soul.”
Hayley wrapped up with, “So yeah, cancel me and cancel my shows if you like. I don’t care enough to keep up the facade. What good is rock n roll if it has to be filtered through the ministries of truth and propaganda anyways?”
The backlash was swift. Aussie rapper Briggs kept it short and sweet: “What a shit take. You should’ve pressed the ‘delete’ button.”
Singer Kira Puru took it even further, calling out Hayley for aligning herself with a slogan so loaded with controversy. “Aligning with a sexist, anti-abortion, homophobic, transphobic, racist, genocidal, maniacal bumbling rapist nonce is an absolutely unhinged way to advocate for free speech,” she wrote.
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Kira then added in a longer comment, “It’s frustrating that people’s response to this is rage and humour (myself included) because I think that ultimately it’s going to push you away from connecting with a community that could help explain and clarify why this stance is shocking, confusing, hurtful, dangerous, whatever… I think it’s hard as an artist to see someone who we feel is ‘in it’ with us to defer to a political stance that ultimately seeks to damage the free speech you’re/we are attempting to advocate for.”
Kira continued, “There sadly aren’t two clear and separate sides on some of these issues but if it feels that way then misinformation and lack of community and conversation is likely to push you over the line. It’s clear you’re not asking for advice or support here but I think engaging in genuine, nuanced critical conversation about this stuff would highlight clearly which points in here are like, valid and worth unpacking further, and which are maybe stemming from intentionally manipulative media that’s designed to pull people like you from the centre into the right, and…. further unpack why like… that would be against your core values in reality.”
Others jumped in too. Singer-songwriter Hatchie commented, “Do you think free speech and hate speech are the same thing? Yay a privileged cis white woman is standing up for privileged cis white men; you’re so brave babe!!!”
Meanwhile, Kirsty Tickle (a.k.a. Exhibitionist) added her own perspective: “Hayley, this is the kindest reply I can muster for this misguided post. I’d really encourage you to get off the internet and speak to people who actually are experts in this. Have a conversation. Explain why you have concerns. Talk it through. ”
“Or… Read the submissions and the objectives of the bill and the reading speeches, and then consider why it might be important. Know that it isn’t yet law and hasn’t ‘snuck in’. Remember that you are in Australia where we don’t have freedom of speech enshrined in our constitution, but we can still express ourselves freely aside from hate speech. You say that you will be schooled on this, and you absolutely should be.”
And Brisbane pop artist Beks didn’t hold back, pointing out the irony of Hayley’s stance. “Girl your backing band is mostly made up of queer powerful women I can’t believe you would wear this hat. Like Whyyyyy???? Wth????”
Hayley Mary’s MAGA moment has sparked fierce debate, leaving her peers—and fans—stunned. Either way, one thing’s certain: Aussie artists aren’t staying quiet about where they stand, and they’re ready to call out what they see as hypocrisy and harmful rhetoric.
