Lily Allen: Women should not have to justify having an abortion

By Alex Green, PA Acting Deputy Entertainment Editor

Lily Allen said women should not have to “justify” having an abortion as she reflected on her own experience of having one.

The 37-year-old hit out on Instagram at people posting examples of “exceptional reasons” for going through with the procedure.

In a note, she suggested sharing those examples only played into the hands of “the baddies”.

Last week, the Smile singer joined Olivia Rodrigo on stage during her set at Glastonbury Festival for a rendition of her 2009 hit song F*** You, which she dedicated to the members of the US Supreme Court involved in ending the country’s constitutional right to abortion.

On Friday, the court, the highest in the country’s federal judiciary, overturned the landmark Roe v Wade ruling that had been in place for nearly 50 years.

Allen wrote on Instagram: “I wish people would stop posting examples of exceptional reasons for having abortions.

“Most people I know, myself included, just didn’t want to have a f****** baby. And that is reason enough! We don’t have to justify it.

“It shouldn’t have to be said, and I think all these examples just play into the hands of the baddies.”

The pop star recently made her West End debut in supernatural thriller 2:22 – A Ghost Story, alongside Harry Potter’s Tom Felton, podcast host Giovanna Fletcher, Encanto’s Stephanie Beatriz, Inbetweeners actor James Buckley, EastEnders’ Jake Wood and theatre star Hadley Fraser.

Allen surprised fans when she tied the knot with Stranger Things and Black Widow actor David Harbour, 47, in a private ceremony in Las Vegas in September 2020.

The pair are thought to have been in a relationship since summer 2019.

Allen was previously married to builder Sam Cooper, and they have two daughters.