Olivia Rodrigo was reportedly slated to appear at Disney’s Lilith Fair documentary premiere over the weekend, but bowed out at the last minute to stand with Jimmy Kimmel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, invitations to the premiere promised ‘special surprise performances.’
Sources revealed that Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan and fellow alum Jewel were slated to perform, while Puck’s Matt Belloni alleged that Rodrigo had also been booked as a surprise guest.
But on the night, the promised performances never materialized.
McLachlan, who introduced the film, seemingly confirmed that the sets were scrapped in light of Kimmel’s controversial suspension.
‘It’s a gift for all of us to see [this film], but also I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech,’ she said in a speech from the stage.
Olivia Rodrigo was reportedly set to be the surprise guest at Disney’s Lilith Fair documentary premiere over the weekend, but bowed out at the last minute to stand with Jimmy Kimmel; seen in August 2025
‘I think we’re all fearful for what comes next, and none of us know, but what I do know is that I have to keep pushing forward as an artist, as a woman to find a way through, and though I don’t begin to know what the answer is, I believe we all need to work towards a softening to let in the possibility of a better way, because I see music as a bridge to our shared humanity, to finding common ground.’
Rodrigo, 22, appears briefly in the closing moments of the film, where she describes the groundbreaking all-female music festival as her artistic compass.
‘The Lilith Fair artists were my north stars,’ she says in the segment.
While McLachlan acknowledged the cancellations, it was Rodrigo’s absence that drew the most attention.
Fans quickly took to social media to applaud her decision, hailing the Grammy winner for ‘consistently having a backbone.’
Others hailed the move as ‘activism done right.’
One X user declared, ‘That’s how you do activism and show your support, even though she rose to fame partially thanks to Disney. What an icon.’
Another fan chimed in: ‘I’m so impressed by her. To pull out of a huge event like that is a massive statement. She’s a true superstar.’
Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan, who introduced the film, seemingly confirmed that the sets were scrapped in light of Kimmel’s controversial suspension
While McLachlan acknowledged the cancellations, it was Rodrigo’s absence that drew the most attention
But not everyone agreed.
Some critics accused Rodrigo of ‘punishing her fans’ by skipping the premiere and ‘using her platform to involve herself in drama.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Rodrigo’s representatives for comment.
The claim comes just days after the Vampire hitmaker addressed the controversy surrounding the late night talk show host on social media.
‘So upset over this blatant censorship and abuse of power,’ Rodrigo wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a previous statement from SAG-AFTRA. ‘I stand with Jimmy Kimmel and I stand for freedom of speech.’
Fans quickly took to social media to applaud her decision, hailing the Grammy winner for ‘consistently having a backbone’
Rodrigo got her big start in the industry when she was cast in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series in 2019.
After starring in three seasons of the show, she left in order to pursue her solo music career.
The star further collaborated with the company with her Disney+ documentary film titled Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U – which focused on the making of her album Sour.
Rodrigo has also been vocal about politics and publicly endorsed Kamala Harris last year ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
A few years earlier in 2021, she assisted the White House with efforts to promote younger people in the U.S. to get the COVID-19 vaccine amid the pandemic.
Rodrigo was also among the 400 stars to sign an ACLU open letter supporting free speech and condemning Disney’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday.
The claim comes just days after she addressed the controversy surrounding the late night talk show host on social media; seen in June 2025
The letter begins: ‘We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.
‘Last week, Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.
‘In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.
‘We know this moment is bigger than us and our industry. Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.’
‘So upset over this blatant censorship and abuse of power,’ Rodrigo wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a previous statement from SAG-AFTRA. ‘I stand for freedom of speech’
‘Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power – because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.
‘This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.’
In total, more than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names.
Kimmel has yet to make a public comment on the suspension.
The late-night show, which Kimmel has hosted since 2003, was pulled by Disney’s ABC hours before its Sept. 17 broadcast following comments the comedian made on the program earlier that week regarding the fatal shooting of Kirk in Utah.
Rodrigo was also among the 400 stars to sign an ACLU open letter supporting free speech and condemning Disney’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks, Selena Gomez, Pedro Pascal, Natalie Portman and Robert De Niro were also among the stars that signed the letter
Kimmel had said of Robinson: ‘The MAGA gang are desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,’ he said.
‘In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.’
He then cut to a video of Donald Trump talking to reporters, where he answered a question about how he was handling Kirk’s death.
When asked how he was holding up, the president responded: ‘I think very good,’ before directing the reporter’s attention to construction on the White House ballroom.
‘He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,’ Kimmel joked.
‘This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.’
