During the 2017 Grammys broadcast, you may have seen a new ad for notoriously ultra-religious and socially conservative fast food chain Chick-fil-A featuring cows passing out VR headsets with Starship‘s 1986 hit “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” playing underneath. While the commercial is undoubtedly entertaining, the use of this song in a commercial by such a right-leaning corporation was surprising, given that Starship (and it’s various earlier incarnations) was a central piece of the free-loving, psychedelic San Francisco music scene during the 60s. You can view the commercial in question below:

In an editorial posted by Forbes, singer Grace Slick puts to rest any head scratching and “sellout” allegations from fans with a complete explanation of her decision to allow Chick-fil-A to use her music. “Chick-fil-A pisses me off,” proclaims Slick. “The Georgia-based company has a well-documented history of funding organizations, through their philanthropic foundation WinShape, that are against gay marriage. In interviews, CEO Dan T. Cathy has critiqued gay-rights supporters who ‘have the audacity to define marriage’ and said they are bringing ‘God’s judgment” upon the nation.’ I firmly believe that men should be able to marry men, and women women. I am passionately against anyone who would try to suppress this basic human right. So my first thought when ‘Check’-fil-A came to me was, ‘F**k no!’

However, Grace Slick devised a plan that would tangibly help the cause in question, rather than merely showing her ceremonial support by declining Chick-fil-A’s offer. Explains Slick, “I am donating every dime that I make from that ad to Lambda Legal, the largest national legal organization working to advance the civil rights of LGBTQ people, and everyone living with HIV. Admittedly, it’s not the millions that WinShape has given to organizations that define marriage as heterosexual. But instead of them replacing my song with someone else’s and losing this opportunity to strike back at anti-LGBTQ forces, I decided to spend the cash in direct opposition to ‘Check’-fil-A’s causes – and to make a public example of them, too. We’re going to take some of their money, and pay it back.”
You can read Grace Slick’s full op-ed on the Forbes blog here.