‘Everything Is at Stake’: Celebrities Join Women’s Marches in L.A., NYC, Sundance

Celebrities were out in full force Saturday for the Respect Rally at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, one of numerous Women’s March events happening across the country on the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Actresses Jane Fonda, Tessa Thompson, Lena Waithe, and Chloe Grace Moretz were joined at the event by rapper Common, attorney Gloria Allred, actor Nick Offerman, and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski.

In her address to the hundreds in attendance, Fonda called for pay equality, slammed Fox News, and urged women to get out and vote so Democrats could re-take Congress and state governorships.

“Get Congress back,” the Grace & Frankie star, 80, said, according to Variety. “Everything is at stake…we can do it. Time is up!”

Fonda also urged those participating in Sundance media interviews to speak about issues of importance.

“Sundance is a media event. Let’s do everything we can to protect and expand public media. We have to counter the right wing echo chamber,” she said, according to the Wrap.

Thor: Ragnarok star Thompson urged activists to continue to work “until we see legislation and policy and a president who respect our humanity.”

“We are here to say, Mr. Trump…your time and power may not yet be up, but our time to stay silent is,” she said.

This year’s event —held at an athletic field amid frigid temperatures and snow — reportedly drew a considerably smaller crowd than last year’s Women’s March on Main, which was led in part by by Netflix talk show host Chelsea Handler.

The Sundance Respect Rally was one of several star-studded events held Saturday throughout the country to commemorate last year’s Women’s March on Washington, a demonstration that drew hundreds of thousands of attendees to the nation’s capital to protest then-newly-sworn-in Trump.

The Women’s March L.A. drew dozens of celebrity speakers, including Natalie Portman, Constance Wu, Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson, Allison Janney, Lupita Nyong’o, Rob Reiner, Paris Jackson, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott, Ted Danson, Olivia Wilde, and Olivia Munn, among others. Other speakers included activists from local immigration advocacy and Black Lives Matter groups as well as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garretti and California Attorney General Xavier Beccera, while musical performers included Melissa Etheridge, Andra Day, and Maxwell.

 

Other stars joined the New York City march, including Amy Schumer, Amber Tamblyn, Padma Lakshmi, Whoopi Goldberg, and singer Halsey.

Grammy-winning singer Adele shared a photograph of her posing alongside actresses Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lawrence, though it was unclear where the photo was taken.

“The most influential people in my life have always been women. My family, my friends, my teachers, my colleagues, and my idols. I am obsessed with all the women in my life,” the singer wrote. “I adore them and need them more and more every day. I am so grateful to be a woman, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

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The most influential people in my life have always been women. My family, my friends, my teachers, my colleagues, and my idols. I am obsessed with all the women in my life. I adore them and need them more and more every day. I am so grateful to be a woman, I wouldn't change it for the world. I hope I'm not only defined by my gender though. I hope I'm defined by my input to the world, my ability to love and to have empathy. To raise my son to be a a good man alongside the good man who loves me for everything I am and am not. I want what's best for people, I think we all do. We just can't agree on what that is. Power to the peaceful, power to the people x #womensmarch2018

A post shared by Adele (@adele) on Jan 20, 2018 at 1:26pm PST

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Today we march #timesup

A post shared by @ amyschumer on Jan 20, 2018 at 9:33am PST

 

Numerous stars used their speeches Saturday to call for gender equality, with many urging attendees and live-stream viewers to donate to Time’s Up, the legal fund recently created as a resource for victims of sexual abuse amid the ongoing sex misconduct scandal in Hollywood.

Allred — who recently represented several women accusing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault — reportedly led attendees in Sundance in a chant of “Resist. Persist. Insist. Elect.”

“We demand our rights! We demand the right to be free of sexual assault, rape and abuse,” Allred said, according to Variety. “We demand the right to control our bodies and our rights…we demand the right to afford legal, safe and free abortions…we demand the right to get contraceptives while men are getting Viagra!”

 

Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum