Madonna, Scarlett Johansson, Miley Cyrus among celebs at women's marches

Scores of Hollywood A-listers turned up at women's marches in Washington, D.C., and other cities on Saturday — part of a global movement aimed at showing support for feminism, equality and human rights as U.S. President Donald Trump took over the White House.

Madonna, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Cher, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Julianne Moore, Amy Schumer, Jake Gyllenhaal and feminist activist Gloria Steinem were just some of those at the march in Washington, where officials estimated the crowd to be at 500,000 people.

Washington

Using explicit language on stage at times, Madonna said that "no opposing force stands a chance in the face of true solidarity."

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"Let's march together through this darkness and with each step know that we are not afraid," she said.

She prompted the crowd to repeat after her in unison: "Yes, we are ready."

Warning: explicit language in speech

During her speech, the pop star also said she'd thought about "blowing up the White House" but that it "wouldn't change anything."

Madonna posted a statement on social media Sunday in response to the backlash, saying she's "not a violent person" and that people should listen to the entire speech "rather than one phrase taken wildly out of context."

Double Jeopardy actress Ashley Judd interrupted filmmaker Michael Moore on stage to recite a poem she said was written by a 19-year-old from Tennessee. 

"I am a nasty woman," she started, reciting the words dramatically from memory. "I'm not as nasty as man who looks like he bathes in Cheetoh dust. A man whose words are a diss track to America."

The poem was received with many cheers from the crowd as it went on to highlight inequality, the wage gap and sexual assault.

"I can't see," she said. "My eyes are too busy praying to my feet, hoping you don't mistake eye contact for wanting physical contact."

At one point, Judd also name-checked Johannsson, who also gave a speech, asking her "why were the female actors paid less than half of what the male actors earned?"

The pop icon Cher, speaking in an Associated Press interview backstage, said she hoped people could now mobilize against Trump the way they mobilized against the Vietnam War.

"I think people are more frightened than they've ever been," the 70-year-old singer said. "Everything that we gained, we're just watching slip away."

Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, Miley Cyrus, Barbra Streisand, Demi Lovato and Jane Fonda were among the hundreds of thousands protesting.

Kerry Washington, Natalie Portman and Mindy Kaling also showed their support, posting photos of the march on social media.

New York

In New York, Helen Mirren, Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon and Whoopi Goldberg joined a crowd of protesters marching to Trump's home at Trump Tower.

Goldberg told a cheering crowd that "what's at stake is everything you believe in ... We're going to show America what we can do in New York."

Rihanna was also spotted in the crowd, dressed in pink.

Park City

In Park City, Utah, TV host Chelsea Handler led a "sister march" and was joined by Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Maria Bello and Benjamin Bratt.

They were in town for the Sundance Film Festival, underway until Jan. 29, although the festival itself was not directly associated with the event.

Singer John Legend also joined the crowd, which was estimated at the end of the march to be about 8,000 people.

"If there is a silver lining to be found from this past election, it's that it opened our eyes to the work that still needs to be done," said Handler. "If the election had gone the other way, maybe we would have grown complacent."

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