In a new interview with CLASH, Hayley Williams opens up with striking candor about art, identity, and accountability. The Paramore frontwoman is currently promoting Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, a project she describes as “a splintered thing”: part emotional memoir, part political meditation, and a full-on rejection of the expectations that have followed her through nearly two decades in the music industry.
Williams’ artistic clarity was on full display just hours after her conversation with the magazine, when she took the stage on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform “True Believer.” She delivered a chilling and powerful performance, accompanied by an equally moving orchestral arrangement, as each line was delivered with a bite that made the song’s themes unmistakable.
Hayley Williams for Clash Magazine taken by Zachary Gray pic.twitter.com/ujazbU8AK7
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“They put up chain-link fences underneath the biggest bridges/They pose in Christmas cards with guns as big as all their children/They say that Jesus is the way, but then they gave him a white face/So they don’t have to pray to someone they deem lesser than them,” Williams sang. She delivered the song seated at a piano draped with a canvas reading “Mississippi G-d Damn,” a clear nod to Nina Simone’s 1964 protest anthem.
True Believer, which tackles Nashville’s ongoing gentrification, the contradictions of Southern pride, and the region’s painful racial history, instantly stood out as one of the most politically charged and emotionally ambitious tracks of her career.
Reflecting on the song’s origins, Williams said that writing about the South, both its beauty and its deep-rooted flaws, took time. “I’ve wanted to write about this for so long, and I’ve never known how to,” she admitted. “And you can’t make it happen – it happened at the time it was supposed to.”
She’s quick to clarify that her critique doesn’t negate the genuine affection she has for the region. “Look, it’s amazing to have Southern pride,” she said. “It’s a beautiful area of not only the country, but the world. It’s so rich in culture and meaning, but we’re focusing on the wrong thing.”
That tension, loving something enough to interrogate it, is at the core of “True Believer,” and it’s part of why Williams’ work resonates so strongly with Black fans, who make up a vital segment of Paramore’s audience. Her willingness to confront uncomfortable truths has long set her apart, both as an artist and an ally.
“I’ve just always felt very grateful that our band can be a part of that conversation,” Williams explained. “It’s so important that people feel welcome to the party.”
“I’ve always said, all are welcome at our shows. But I don’t want racists around, and I don’t want sexist people around, and I don’t want people there who think that trans people are a burden,” she said firmly. “I think that’s a hard line for me now.”
Her hope is that bigots “won’t feel comfortable,” because the community around Paramore is unified in its support for something better. “All are welcome if you believe all should be welcome… If you don’t believe that, you’re not welcome!”
Even as Williams has released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of this year, her creative fire shows no sign of dimming. If anything, she seems even more restless, energized, and overflowing with ideas she admits she doesn’t always fully understand at first.
“A lot of the times my writing spills out so quickly, I won’t know what it means for a year or two,” she said. “I mean, I’m still figuring out things from the last Paramore album.”
For her third studio album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, Hayley Williams has been nominated for four Grammys, including Best Rock Performance for “Mirtazapine,” Best Rock Song for “Glum,” Best Alternative Music Performance for “Parachute” and Best Alternative Music Album for “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party.”
The Paramore frontwoman has also unveiled plans for a 2026 North American and European tour. Dubbed as the Hayley Williams at a Bachelorette Party Tour, the tour, which kicks off on March 27, will see the singer play multiple-night stops in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, and Los Angeles, alongside additional dates in several other cities. Water From Your Eyes will be the supporting act for most of her shows.
Source: CLASH.