Whoopi Goldberg at the Women’s March: ‘I Don’t Want to Be Spoken to Like You Own Me'

Whoopi Goldberg delivers a powerful surprise speech at the NYC Women's March.

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Whoopi Goldberg made a surprise speech at Saturday's Women's March. She joined a sea of speakers at a pre-rally march in Columbus Circle, including the singer Halsey, actress and activist Rosie Perez, actress Veronica Dunne, and activist Nadina LaSpina.

The actress, The View host, and marijuana enthusiast, who told Buzzfeed Saturday that women are a part of the so-called anti-Trump resistance "whether you like it or not," delivered a powerful speech to the crowd of thousands that gathered in New York.

"The only way we're going to make a change is if we commit to change. We have to decide that the people who represent us have to represent all of us. They can't represent some of us," Goldberg said. "We're all human beings and have a right to say, 'This is how I want to be spoken to. I don't want to be spoken to like you own me, like you think you can touch me when I say you cannot.' We are here to say—as women—we're not taking it anymore. It's just not going to happen."

Goldberg told Buzzfeed that her celebrity status is something she thinks about often in her activism. “I have a different responsibility in the world because I actually am around a lot of different people and I do hear a lot of stories,” she said. “So I want to pass it on so that you cannot be willfully ignorant.”

The second Women's March marked the first anniversary of Trump's inauguration, which happened to also fall on the morning of the government shutdown. The march included rants and rallies on topics ranging from #MeToo, equal pay, reproductive rights, immigrant support, and support for the LGBTQ community. Washington D.C., LA, and a number of other cities across the country held Women's March events on Saturday as well.

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