Janelle Monáe asks crowd if they are ready to fight back against 'bully' Trump
Actress and singer Janelle Monáe called out Republicans, warning that people like herself will "challenge" President Donald Trump like a schoolyard bully.
Monáe received the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Equality Award in Los Angeles over the weekend. During her speech to the LGBTQ organization, she touted how she has used her art to create "safe spaces" for marginalized people, and gave her rationale for doing so.
She shared an anecdote about being bullied at school until she challenged her bully to a fight. When her bully eventually backed down from the confrontation, Monáe said from that point onward, she took to heart that "bullies only win when we let them think they can."
Monáe, who is an outspoken progressive, argued Trump and Republicans are acting like bullies in multiple ways.
"Because here's the truth, bullying doesn't stop when we grow up. It doesn't end when we leave school, it just gets bigger. It re-brands itself," she said. "The bully gets elected president. The bully writes laws and links with other bullies, and the bullying is now happening through legislation, and right now we are watching those bullies link up and come for our communities."
"I'm proud to be in the LGBTQIA+ community, as pansexual, as non-binary, and I'm proud to come from a working-class community. I'm proud to come from a Black community," she said. "So it's infuriating watching them try to take away our human rights, erase our identities, strip away our healthcare, roll back our reproductive freedom, attack our voting rights, pollute our air and water, and eliminate federal jobs. Jobs that so many families, including my own sister, depend on."
She praised service workers and immigrants, adding that our world would crumble without them.
"Instead of being paid with dignity and respect, we've watched them be bullied by the very system that couldn't last a day without them. We are nothing without you," she said.
She also praised the hosting organization for its work, declaring, "I am thankful the HRC has been fighting back fearlessly, relentlessly, challenging the evil giants, the bullies, the ones who want to stomp down on us, tease us, erase us, tire us out till we have no fight left."
Monáe rallied the crowd, asking them if they were ready to unite with society's underdogs to start "getting scrappy and fighting back."
"Let's make it clear we will challenge the giant," Monáe said as she ended her speech.
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