Pro-abortion critics slam Gwen Stefani for partnering with Catholic Hallow app

Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and former "No Doubt" front woman Gwen Stefani is facing criticism following the announcement that she has partnered with the Catholic prayer app Hallow for Advent. Because the app includes pro-life prayers (despite the fact that Stefani, who is openly Catholic, has not made specifically pro-life comments), abortion supporters are not happy.

Key Takeaways:

• Gwen Stefani has partnered with the Catholic prayer app Hallow, and did so previously in 2024.

• After Matt Bernstein, who dubbed himself the "friendly queer jew with very long nails," shared Stefani's Hallow ad, she received heavy backlash because of the Catholic app's traditionally pro-life stance and partnerships with pro-life individuals.

• Stefani has never made explicitly pro-life comments but is openly Catholic.

The Details:

After Stefani shared an advertisement for Hallow inviting her followers to download the app and join her in prayer this Advent, influencer Matt Bernstein, who markets himself as a "friendly queer jew with very long nails," had some not so "friendly" words for Stefani and Hallow.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year when Gwen Stefani shills for the right-wing, anti-abortion pay-to-pray app Hallow," said Bernstein.

He added, "Hallow is a daily pay to pray app that costs $70 a year before tax. God's not cheap."

There is a free version of Hallow, and premium subscriptions can be bypassed by joining through a person's church community.

Bernstein continued, "Gwen's pay-to-pray scam has all of the things you'd expect. It has a multitude of anti-abortion prayers, some of which are read to you by the soothing voice of Lila Rose... the founder of Live Action, a group dedicated to ending abortion. And by the way, someone Gwen seems to be pals with or at least a fan of."

He highlighted a pro-life prayer on the app which states, "Jesus, we pray for every woman who is considering abortion, and in a special way for those who are pregnant from acts of rape or incest. may every woman know the goodness, gift, and beauty of her own life, and so be able to receive the gift of her chid's life."

He called it "really extreme and deeply unpopular and incredibly regressive and violent" and claimed that "deeply evil" men "like JD Vance" are looking to get pro-life exceptions for rape and incest out of "the range of acceptable viewpoints."

Bernstein believes there's no "better way to do that than by recruiting everyone's favorite Hollaback Girl. Hollaback Girl more like Hallow App Girl."

This isn't the first time Stefani has worked with Hallow. In 2024 she partnered with the app during Lent and Christmas. And while Stefani has never made explicitly pro-life statements, Hallow does express a pro-life viewpoint. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone that a Catholic prayer app would uphold traditional Catholic Church teachings about abortion.

In 2023, CEO Alex Jones stated that Hallow “proudly and unequivocally” supports “the pro-life stance of the [Catholic] Church and the USCCB’s affirmation of [the end of] abortion as the preeminent priority.”

Many who commented on Bernstein's Instagram post attacked Stefani, including reality TV star Chrishell Stause of "Selling Sunset," who was just one of several people calling for Stefani's silence, writing, "Gwen-DON'T SPEAK. Please take your own advice on this one."

Another comment claimed, "1990s Gwen would be so disappointed in 2025 Gwen."

“Well this is a huge disappointment,” another said, while another wrote: “Lots of your fans are from the LGBTQ+ community and this feels like a deep betrayal.”

“Honestly never thought that you would be anti-abortion,” another commented.

Comedian Walter Masterson claimed, "Lila Rose's group is evil. There's no way Gwen is just a casual follower of hers."

Another was quick to note that other celebrities have partnered with Hallow, writing, "Wait... is Chris Pratt on this too? I'm sure I saw an ad with him..."

This is correct; Chris Pratt, Mark Wahlberg, and Jonathan Roumie of "The Chosen" (who spoke at the 2023 March for Life) have all lent their voices to the Hallow app. But Hallow faced controversy in 2023 when it partnered with actor Liam Neeson, who is a pro-abortion advocate. While at first, Jones defended working with Neeson saying the goal of Hallow is to reach people "who have fallen away" from the Church, he later backtracked and called the partnership a "mistake."

“There’s a bunch of stuff we’ve worked through and learned over the last couple of years about all the ways that we have to be careful in terms of how we work,” Jones told the National Catholic Register of the controversy. “There’s the sin of scandal. There’s material cooperation with evil. There’s a bunch of stuff that we learned and are growing in understanding.”

The Bottom Line:

Induced abortion is the direct and intentional killing of human beings in the womb and there is no justification for it. The Catholic Church has always stood firmly against induced abortion and destruction of human life, advocating that no innocent human being — regardless of their age, race, religion, or any other factor — should be brutally targeted for death or treated as disposable.

Whether Stefani is pro-life or not, she has every right to seek a closer relationship with God through prayer and to invite her followers on the journey with her.