Alanis Morissette takes to the stage with powerful message about the gender pay gap as she performs at the Blenheim Palace Festival 2026

took to the stage with a powerful message about the global gender pay gap as she performed at the Blenheim Palace Festival 2026 on Sunday night. 

Singing her hit, Right Through You, the screen behind her was filled with the words: 'At the current rate, it will take 202 years for women to achieve equal pay.'

The next message read: 'Women earn only 10% of the world's income.'

Right Through You is an empowering track about rejecting industry sexism and taking back control of one's career. 

She references predatory executives who underestimated her when she was younger, refused to take her seriously as a mature artist. 

According to UK Parliament, the overall gender pay gap in Britain for all employees is 12.8%. 

For full-time employees, it narrows down to 6.9% (men typically earning £20.27/hour compared to women's £18.87/hour).

In the United States: Women working full-time earn roughly 81-85 cents for every dollar men make, with the gap being wider for women of colour. 

On the night, Alanis performed other hits such as Ironic, Hand In My Pocket, Hands Clean and You Learn to an eager crowd.

Alanis' concert came a night after Pete Tong performed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, with performances from Michael Bublé, Teddy Swims, Katy Perry and Mimi Webb still to come. 

Alanis was supported by London rock band Skunk Anansie, who performed hits such as Weak and Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good).

Canadian singer Alanis has reflected on her split from  nearly 20 years after they ended their engagement. 

The Grammy-winning singer, 52, began dating Ryan, 49, in 2002 and the couple were engaged for three years before calling it quits in 2007. 

Ryan began dating just two months later after the split, marrying the actress 18 months later before their divorce in 2011. He then married in 2012. 

In 2008 Alanis's interview with about the breakup went viral as the singer tried to laugh off probing questions about her sex life and admitted she needed therapy five days a week to get over the heartbreak. 

Speaking about the difficult interview, Alanis says now: 'It felt like the ongoing normalisation of me being invisible,' adding that she would react very differently to such intrusive questions now.

'I have a million questions I could ask back that would be equally inappropriate. It just became normalised to hurt women every day, call her a b****, tell her she's a slut,' she told The Sunday Times Style.

In a viral TikTok of a clip from her 2008 Howard Stern Show interview, Alanis opened up about how the breakup influenced her album at the time, admitting to Stern she was initially 'not OK' with the split.

When Stern asked her about previously revealing she'd gone to therapy five times a week after the breakup, Alanis responded: 'Therapy's not about the guy... It's about me. It's not about the guy.'

After Stern inquired about Reynolds' quick rebound with Scarlett Johansson, Alanis paused and remained silent for a moment. Stern then pressed, 'So what? He comes home and announces he's with another broad?' Alanis emphatically replied, 'No.'

When asked if she saw the split coming, Alanis nodded in agreement and admitted she had prepared herself for the breakup.

Stern then asked, 'Do you think he's the kind of guy who moves on right away when he falls in love with the next person?' to which Alanis replied, 'I can't speak for him, I have no idea.'

In 2010 Alanis married the rapper Souleye, aka Mario Treadway, and they have two sons and a daughter aged between 15 and six.

'There are just so many qualities in him that were slam-dunky,' she told The Sunday Times about her husband. 

'If I would talk about something on a date, typically the person would look at me quizzically like I was strange. It was the complete opposite with Souleye. He had zero desire to clip my wings.'

For more information, hospitality and VIP options, and remaining tickets for Blenheim Festival, visit www.blenheimpalacefestival.com or www.ticketmaster.co.uk.