Celebrities march for women
Chicago. Oklahoma City. London. Los Angeles.
Across the globe, cities big and small saw throngs of women, men and children take to the streets Saturday in a show of unity and support for women’s rights. The swarms of marchers came together in the sunshine and rain to rally against sexism, racism and hatred and to protest President Donald Trump.
The crowds were so large that some US cities ground to a halt as demonstrators overwhelmed streets, train stations and parks. The more than 600 “sister marches” were held in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington a day after Trump’s inauguration.
A lot of celebrities joined in the celebration—a lot of them also delivered rousing speeches to the crowd.
Actress Charlize Theron and other celebrities led demonstrators in a chant of “Love, not hate, makes America great” through the snowy streets during the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
The march was about unity and bringing people together, Theron said.
“None of us are here today to divide anyone. We’re already divided enough,” she said. “I think we are really here today to celebrate coming together and working together and hearing each other and being able to move forward instead of moving backward. That’s all we want.”
Comedienne Chelsea Handler agreed.
“After that terrible day yesterday (Trump’s inauguration), we are going to unite,” she said.
Yesterday, though, Madonna had to defend her fiery, expletive-laden speech at the women’s march, saying her words were “taken wildly out of context.”
The singer said at the Washington, D.C. march Saturday that she had at times been angry after the election and had thought “an awful lot about blowing up the White House.”
In a statement Sunday on Instagram, Madonna said she was trying to express there are two ways to respond to Donald Trump’s election: with hope or with outrage. She said she hopes to effect change “with love.”
Madonna wrote that she doesn’t promote violence and people should listen to her speech “in its entirety rather than one phrase taken wildly out of context.”
Cable news networks broadcasting her speech cut away after Madonna used several expletives.
But the president is not America. His cabinet is not America. Congress is not America. We are America. And we are here to stay. We march today for our families and our neighbors, for our future, for the causes we claim, and for the causes that claim us. AMERICA FERRERA I am a nasty woman. Not as nasty as a man who looks like he bathes in Cheeto dust, a man whose words are a diss to America— Electoral College-sanctioned hate speech. ...I’m a nasty woman. A loud, proud, vulgar woman. ASHLEY JUDD President Trump, I did not vote for you. That said, I respect that you’re our president. And I want to be able to support you. But first, I ask that you support me. Support my sister, my mother, my friend, my best girl friend. … I ask you to support all women and our fight for equality for all things. SCARLETT JOHANSSON There is power in our unity… no opposing force stands a chance in the face of true solidarity. To our detractors who insist that this march will never add up to anything, f*** you. F*** you. MADONNA