ABC/Paula LoboAt the New York Women’s March on Saturday, Halsey delivered a poem in which she detailed a litany of sexual assault and abuse that she’s suffered over the years…even, she said, after she became famous.
“This was really hard for me to do but I’m glad I did it,” she tweeted later. “Thank you guys. This is why we rally.”
Halsey told the crowd, “I don’t really how to do a speech unless it rhymes so I’m gonna do a little poem for you guys.” She then recited the poem, “A Story Like Mine,” which began with a description of going to a Planned Parenthood clinic at age 14 with her best friend, who’d been raped.
It then detailed Halsey herself over the years, being abused as a child, having non-consensual sex with a boyfriend, performing after having a miscarriage, and being assaulted by a man she “trusted,” as recently as last year.
Halsey also shouted out the female Olympians who spoke out against the doctor who abused them all, as well as other women who’ve spoken out about sexual misconduct. Here’s the text of that portion:
“It’s 2018 and I’ve realized nobody is safe long as she is alive
And every friend that I know has a story like mine
And the world tells me we should take it as a compliment
But then heroes like Ashley and Simone and Gabby, McKayla and Gaga, Rosario, Aly
Remind me this is the beginning, it is not the finale
And that’s why we’re here
And that’s why we rally
It’s Olympians and a medical resident and not one f***ing word from the man who is President.”
Halsey finished saying, “There is work to be done/There are songs to be sung/Lord knows there’s a war to be won.”
Read the full speech here.
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