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Donald Trump’s inauguration day is nothing to celebrate for so many women in America and around the globe.
Thousands are preparing for the Women’s March on Washington and its respective sister marches around the world. An estimated 1.4 million marchers will participate in gatherings across the nation and in international locations, including Italy, Canada, Costa Rica and India.
But even women not participating in the march are still finding their own way to stand up to the new administration. Designers, hair stylists and artists alike have stood up for their beliefs and turned down any offers to participate in Trump’s inauguration.
Here are five of the women who have had no problem turning down the man elected despite having boasted about “grabbing her by the pussy.”
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Good for you @triciakelly:Hair stylist to Marla Maples: No free services in exchange for Inauguration Day ‘exposure’ https://t.co/rWhpL5Hyi3
— Rachel Mann (@msrachelmann) January 17, 2017
One of the most recent women to say no to the Trump family is freelance stylist Tricia Kelly, who declined to work with Marla Maples, Donald Trump’s second wife, and their daughter, Tiffany Trump for Inauguration Day.
Kelly was initially told that Maples and Tiffany Trump only had a budget of $300 for hair and makeup, which is less than Kelly’s average fee. But even after working out an agreement that would cost $200 for hair and $150 for makeup, Maples’ assistant instead proposed that Kelly work for “exposure” or for free. Kelly would do the pair’s hair and makeup and in return Maples would post about her business on social media.
“I was stunned,” Kelly told the Washington Post. “I told them … I work for a fee, not for free. There are people who make far less than they do who pay full price.”
And although Kelly admitted to not being sure about sharing the news in the first place, she said that she wanted to shed light on this “entitled” behavior.
Jennifer Holliday initially agreed to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration with the hopes of using her voice as an instrument of healing, she told the women of “The View.” But after receiving death threats for saying yes to Trump, the “Dreamgirls” star, who has performed for four different presidents, was pushed to say no.
In addition to the messages telling Holliday that she should kill herself or that someone should kill her, Holliday also said that the LGBTQ community reached out to her through an article in the Daily Beast, explaining the reasons they were upset.
“They threw my own words back to me and I’m not a liar and I’m not a hypocrite,” Holliday said. “I had to look at my words. And they were hurting and they were in pain … I was like, ‘Okay, thank you. I’m going to pull out.'”
READ MORE: Tearful Jennifer Holliday Reveals Inauguration Death Threats (VIDEO)
When Charlotte Church was asked to sing for the inauguration, the pop singer and opera sensation responded with a simple, yet bold message to “tyrant” Trump.
@realDonaldTrump Your staff have asked me to sing at your inauguration, a simple Internet search would show I think you’re a tyrant. Bye????
— Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) January 10, 2017
In Tweets dated as far back as Dec 2015, Church has had no problem demonstrating her disdain towards the President-Elect. In previous tweets, she referred to him as a “sith death eater.”
Trump is such a sith.
— Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) December 7, 2015
A Sith death eater…….and an amoeba. I really, really detest him.
— Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) December 7, 2015
Rebecca Ferguson, on the other hand, gave Trump an ultimatum. After being asked to perform, Ferguson took to Twitter to say that she would only sing “Strange Fruit,” a historically significant song about the lynching of African Americans in the United States.
It is a song that is a “reminder of how love is the only thing that will conquer all the hatred in this world,” she wrote.
However, the Trump administration did not agree to her song choice so Ferguson later issued a statement explaining her reason for saying no to Trump.
“There are many grey areas about the offer for me to perform that I’m unable to share right now, but I will not be singing,” she wrote. “I’ve a lot of love for the United States. It’s a constant source of inspiration to myself, if not the whole world. I genuinely wish you all well and hope I will still get to sing ‘Strange Fruit’ for you one day.”
Read the whole statement here.
Sophie Theallet joins a long list of designers who refuse to dress Melania Trump, including Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford and Christian Siriano. For many of these professionals, their personal and company values must align with the values of their customers.
For Theallet, she says that her brand “stands against all discrimination and prejudice.” Thus, she made the decision to stay true to that value with her actions. She has dressed Michelle Obama for the last eight years, but does not want to dress Melania Trump because of her respect for diversity and all lifestyles.
“I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next First Lady,” Theallet wrote in a statement. “The rhetoric of racism, sexism and xenophobia unleashed by her husband’s presidential campaign are incompatible with the shared values we live by.”
Read the full statement below.
Open letter | Sophie Theallet | November 17th, 2016 pic.twitter.com/g1hIAyBmdF
— sophie theallet (@sophietheallet) November 17, 2016
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