Delivering remarks to an estimated crowd of 500,000 protesters at the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday afternoon, Madonna pulled no punches in expressing her displeasure with the new Commander-in-Chief.
The singer began her speech on a hopeful note, welcoming her fellow protesters “to the revolution of love, to the rebellion, to our refusal as women to accept this new age of tyranny, where not just women are in danger but all marginalized people, where being uniquely different, right now, might truly be considered a crime.” As CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN aired her remarks on live TV, the Queen of Pop then stirred up a bit of controversy by dropping a succession of f-bombs.
“It took this horrific moment of darkness to wake us the fuck up,” she said to roars of approval. She later went on to say, “To our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything: Fuck you.” After repeating herself to make sure new FCC chairman (and net neutrality foe) Ajit Pai was listening, CNN and MSNBC cut away from the live feed. C-SPAN, however, continued their coverage of the speech uninterrupted.
Near the end of her speech, Madonna added, ” have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House, but I know that this won’t change anything. We can’t fall into despair.”
Watch Madonna’s remarks above, and read the full text of the speech below:
Welcome to the revolution of love, to the rebellion and our refusal as women to accept this new age of tyranny. Where not just women are in danger, but all marginalized people. Where being uniquely different, right now, might truly be considered a crime. It took this horrific moment of darkness to wake us the fuck up. It seems we have all slipped into a false sense of comfort, that justice would prevail and good would win. Well, good did not win this election. But good will win in the end.
So what today means is that we are far from the end. Today marks the beginning. The beginning of our story. The revolution starts here. The fight for the right to be free to be who we are, to be equal. Let’s march together through this darkness and with each step, know that we are not afraid. That we are not alone. That we will not back down. That there is power in our unity and that no opposing force stands a chance in the face of true solidarity.
And to our detractors that insist this march will never add up to anything, fuck you. Fuck you. It is the beginning of much needed change. Change that will require sacrifice, people. Change that will require many of us to make different choices in our lives. But this is the hallmark of revolution. My question to you today is, “Are you ready?” I said, “Are you ready?” Say, “Yes, we’re ready!” Say, “Yes, we’re ready!” One more time: You’re ready!
Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I’m outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House, but I know that this won’t change anything. We can’t fall into despair. As the poet W.H. Auden once wrote on the eve of World War II, we must love one another or die. I choose love. Are you with me? Say this with me. We choose love. We choose love. We choose love.
