Lily Allen has been outspoken about reproductive rights, and she didn’t hold back in her latest podcast episode.
In a candid moment on her podcast, Lily Allen opened up about her experience with abortion, admitting she ‘can’t remember’ how many times she’s gone through the procedure.
While Allen became a household name with hits like “22”, she’s recently stepped into a more personal space with the launch of her podcast.
Co-hosted with her longtime friend Miquita Oliver, the show called “Miss Me?” dives into her private life. Many of the episodes focus on raw and honest conversations about experiences that don’t often get talked about openly.
In one of the latest episodes, Allen shared how she used to get pregnant frequently before choosing an IUD for birth control.
“I’d get pregnant all the time, all the time. Abortions I’ve had a few, but then again, I can’t remember exactly how many.”
“I can’t remember. I think maybe like, I want to say four or five.”
Lily Allen has admitted she ‘can’t remember’ how many abortions she’s hadJohn Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
Her co-host and friend Miquita Oliver chimed in with her own experience, saying: “I’ve had about five too! Lily, I’m so happy I can say that and you can say it and no one came to shoot us down, no judgment.”
“We’ve had about the same amount of abortions.”
Lily followed that with a story from her past: “I remember once getting pregnant and the man paying for my abortion, and me thinking it was so romantic.”
“No, I don’t think it’s generous or romantic. Think about that investment, like that’s, how much is it? 500 quid. Kids are a lot more expensive.”
As their conversation continued, the two reflected on how abortion still feels like a difficult and uncomfortable topic for many. Allen admitted that this stigma is one of the things that ‘irritates’ her the most.
She and Oliver said they hope that having open conversations like this can help others feel less alone and make the topic less taboo over time.
“I felt really embarrassed to even say that I had more than one abortion,” Oliver began. “Why the f*** should I be ashamed? I have had a few.”
Adding to that, Allen — known for her track “LDN” — expressed her frustration even further: “It actually irritates me, and I’ve said it before on the record. I’ve seen memes going around sometimes, on Instagram from pro-abortion accounts or whatever, whenever this conversation comes up, and suddenly you start seeing people posting things about extraordinary reasons for having an abortion.”
Lily Allen has long been an advocate for abortion rightsNeil Mockford/FilmMagic
“Like, ‘My aunt had a kid that had this disability,’ or whatever, ‘if she went full term it was going to kill her, so we have to.’ It’s like, shut up!”
“Just, ‘I don’t want a f***ing baby right now.’ Literally, ‘Don’t want a baby’ is enough reason.”
In her personal life, Lily Allen is mom to two daughters, 12-year-old Marnie Rose and 13-year-old Ethel Mary, whom she shares with her former partner Sam Cooper.
