Madonna defends controversial Women’s March speech

Singer told the crowd in Washington, DC: 'I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House'.

Madonna has defended her speech at this weekend’s Women’s March on Washington, DC after some commentators criticised her comments about “blowing up the White House”.

Addressing the crowd on Saturday (January 21), Madonna shared her dismay at seeing Donald Trump become President, saying: “I’m angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know that this won’t change anything.”

“We cannot fall into despair,” she added. “As the poet W. H. Auden once wrote on the eve of World War Two, “We must love one another or die.” I choose love. Are you with me?”

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Posting on Instagram yesterday (January 22), the singer wrote that she wanted to “clarify some important things” about her speech.

“I am not a violent person, I do not promote violence and it’s important people hear and understand my speech in it’s entirety rather than one phrase taken wildly out of context,” she continued, before adding later: “I spoke in metaphor and I shared two ways of looking at things — one was to be hopeful, and one was to feel anger and outrage, which I have personally felt.”

“However, I know that acting out of anger doesn’t solve anything,” Madonna then wrote. “And the only way to change things for the better is to do it with love.” Read her full post below.

View this post on Instagram

Yesterday's Rally. was an amazing and beautiful experience. I came and performed Express Yourself and thats exactly what i did. However I want to clarify some very important things. I am not a violent person, I do not promote violence and it's important people hear and understand my speech in it's entirety rather than one phrase taken wildly out of context. My speech began with " I want to start a revolution of love." ♥️ I then go on to take this opportunity to encourage women and all marginalized people to not fall into despair but rather to come together and use it as a starting point for unity and to create positive change in the world. I spoke in metaphor and I shared two ways of looking at things — one was to be hopeful, and one was to feel anger and outrage, which I have personally felt. However, I know that acting out of anger doesn’t solve anything. And the only way to change things for the better is to do it with love. It was truly an honor to be part of an audience chanting “we choose love”. ????♥️????♥️????♥️????♥️???? #revoltutionoflove♥️#revolutionoflove♥️*******************************************************

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Madonna also performed her songs ‘Express Yourself’ and ‘Human Nature’ at the Women’s March on Washington, DC on Saturday, and told demonstrators that the newly-inaugurated Presiden could “suck a dick”.

The march in the US capital led an international day of action against Trump’s administration in the name of women’s rights, which activists believe will be under threat from the actions of the new President. Large-scale protests took place in major US cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York – just three of an estimated 300 nationwide demonstrations – while similar protests across the world were seen from London to Sydney.

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Other famous names to speak or perform at the Women’s March on Washington were Alicia Keys – who sang ‘Girl On Fire’ – Janelle Monáe, Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman, Amy Schumer, Cher and Scarlett Johansson.

Meanwhile, stars including Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Sir Ian McKellen turned out for Women’s Marches elsewhere in the world.

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