Alanis Morissette was scheduled to join Olivia Rodrigo and Sara Bareilles in honoring Carly Simon at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday but was nowhere to be found. The day after the show, Morissette took to Instagram to explain her sudden decision to drop out. Although she left some mystery behind her reasoning, the Jagged Little Pill singer suggested that she felt mistreated by the production team and noted that she has spent “decades in an industry that is rife with an overarching anti-woman sentiment.”
Morissette was scheduled to sing “You’re So Vain” with Rodrigo. She was reportedly at rehearsals, and multiple sources told Variety she “struggled with the song” during a run-through and walked out. Sources close to Morissette disputed this, noting that she and Rodrigo were in the “normal, initial stages” of working on the song with the house band Friday.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“There are some misinformed rumblings about my not performing at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony this past weekend,” Morissette wrote in a since-expired Instagram Story post. “Firstly, I have to say how much I adore Carly Simon and Olivia Rodrigo and Dolly Parton and Janet Jackson and Pat Benatar and Sheryl Crow and Pink and Brandi Carlile and Sara Bareilles – and all the amazing people and artists who were there.”
However, Morissette noted that she has “spent decades in an industry that is rife with an overarching anti-woman sentiment and have tolerated a lot of condescension and disrespectfulness, reduction, dismissiveness, contract-breaching, unsupportiveness, exploitation and psychological violence (and more)” throughout her career. She “tolerated it” in the past so she could connect with those she cared about and her fans.
“I live to serve and connect with people and so over the years I sucked it up on more occasions than I can count in order to do so,” Morissette wrote. “It’s hard not to be affected in any industry around the world, but Hollywood has been notorious for its disrespect of the feminine in all of us.”
In conclusion, the “You Oughta Know” singer said she is “thankfully” now at a point in her life where “there is no need for me to spend time in an environment that reduces women.” She continued, “I have had countless incredible experiences with production teams with all genders throughout my life. So many, and so fun. There is nothing better than a team of diverse people coming together with one mission. I’ll continue to show up in those environments with bells on.”
Representatives for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have not commented on the situation. Morissette made it clear that she had no ill will toward Rodrigo, whom she has publicly supported in the past. They participated in a conversation together for Rolling Stone and Rodrigo helped induct Morissette into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in September.
An edited version of the concert will air on HBO on Nov. 15. The Simon tribute also included Bareilles performing a brief rendition of “Nobody Does It Better.” The night ended with an epic tribute to the late Jerry Lee Lewis and included an extended tribute to Dolly Parton, who was also inducted into the Rock Hall.
