Madonna On Her Women’s March Speech: “I Am Not A Violent Person”

Madonna's remarks at the Women's March were instantly galvanising and controversial. The singer joined a host of other speakers in delivering a message of resistance to the estimated 2.5 million people that gathered around the world to protest the newly minted United States government. Her speech was cut short because of profanity, and also included some calls for violent resistance. "And to our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything: Fuck you. Fuck you," Madonna said. "It is the beginning of much-needed change." Here's the part that got people really upset: "Yes, I'm angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House," Madonna said. "But I know that this won't change anything. We cannot fall into despair." Now, Madge has issued a lengthy statement via Instagram explaining her position. "However I want to clarify some very important things," she wrote. "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 attributed her remarks to metaphor. "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." Read her full statement below.