Zara Larsson Speaks Out on Losing a $3M Brand Deal for Joking About Abortion on Social Media

"I lost $3M, which is the biggest brand deal I’d been offered in my life," said the "Midnight Sun" singer in a new interview with 'The Guardian'

NEED TO KNOW

• Zara Larsson lost a $3M brand deal after joking about abortion with a fan on social media
• The singer defended the joke, saying humor can help normalize discussions about abortion and reduce stigma
• Larsson is currently on her Midnight Sun Tour and plans to release a deluxe version of her album soon

Zara Larsson is opening up about how a social media joke about abortion impacted her career.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the “Midnight Sun” pop star, 28, spoke about losing a $3M brand deal after joking with a fan on social media about getting an abortion after one of Larsson’s shows.

Earlier this month, a fan posted a TikTok video of Larsson performing on stage and wrote, “I didn’t know I was pregnant here but at least my baby got to hear midnight sun before I aborted it.”

At the time, Larsson wrote in the comments, “I killed the performance and then you killed it after the performance purrrrrr.”

Reflecting on the moment, the Swedish artist told The Guardian, “I lost $3M, which is the biggest brand deal I’d been offered in my life.”

However, Larsson didn’t care about losing the paycheck: “I was genuinely like: Okay, losers!”

While the “Lush Life” performer opted not to name the brand that dropped her, she may reveal it in the future. “I feel like there’s going to be a moment for that later,” she told the outlet.

Larsson previously responded to the moment in her own TikTok video on March 5 and stood by the joke. “Sorry, that's funny,” she said. “Like, I don't know what to say. That's funny. Sorry if you don't have humor.”

She explained, “I’m not really here to argue with the people who are very against abortions for whatever reason because we’re so fundamentally different in the way we view the world, at least on this topic.”

@zaralarsson

And THATS on #healthcare 😘

♬ original sound – Zara Larsson

Larsson also addressed anyone who feels the topic of abortion is too serious to make jokes about. “I just want to know why that is,” she said. “Why do you feel like abortion is only okay when it’s a very hard decision, when it’s something that women have to struggle with going through, when it’s emotionally or physically painful. Why does that make it morally superior than someone just wanting an abortion for whatever reason? Why is it only morally okay when women have to suffer?” 

The Grammy-nominated artist noted that she does think it’s positive to “prevent” abortion by offering other options, like sexual education and birth control.

She added, “I feel like joking about stuff like that, a 'serious topic,' it also makes it something that we can just talk about. It doesn't have to be taboo. It doesn't have to be this bad thing that women do."

Larsson is currently in the midst of her Midnight Sun Tour, and she’s gearing up to release a deluxe version of her Midnight Sun album soon, per The Guardian.