Halsey shared a powerful poem at the Women’s March in New York City on Saturday, January 20, prompting celebrities including Reese Witherspoon and Debra Messing to praise her inspiring words.
In the poem, the “Bad at Love” singer, 23, detailed her experience accompanying her best friend to Planned Parenthood at the age of 14 after her friend was raped. She also revealed she was sexually assaulted as a child by a family friend and how a previous boyfriend forced her to have sex.
here is my entire “A Story Like Mine” poem from today’s #WomensMarch2018 in NYC tw: rape / assault. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/l3fji73woM
— h (@halsey) January 20, 2018
“He’s taken to forcing me down on my knees / And I’m confused ’cause he’s hurting me while he says please / And he’s only a man, and these things he just needs / He’s my boyfriend, so why am I filled with unease?” she said.
Halsey later recounted her painful experience of having to perform at a concert on the same day she suffered a miscarriage. She previously revealed to Rolling Stone that she got pregnant during her 2015 Badlands tour but the stress of traveling and overworking her body likely led to her losing her pregnancy.
The “New Americana” songstress ended the powerful speech by saying, “We are not free until all of us are free. So love your neighbor, please treat her kindly. Ask her story and then shut up and listen. Black, Asian, poor, wealthy, trans, cis, Muslim, Christian. Listen, listen and then yell at the top of your lungs. Be a voice for all those who have prisoner tongues. For the people who had to grow up way too young. There is work to be done. There are songs to be sung. Lord knows there’s a war to be won.”
Halsey uploaded the video on her Twitter account, captioning it, “Here is my entire ‘A Story Like Mine’ poem from today’s #WomensMarch2018 in NYC tw: rape / assault. Thank you.” Her words went viral, with the video being retweeted 85,000 times, with Witherspoon and Messing also sharing the speech.
The Big Little Lies star, 41, wrote, “Blown away by this @halsey #TruthHasAVoice,” while the Will & Grace actress tweeted, “This is extraordinary. Thank you @Halsey for your art, your words, your ferocity.”
Blown away by this @halsey #TruthHasAVoice https://t.co/HcCemXIreN
— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) January 21, 2018
This is extraordinary. Thank you @Halsey for your art, your words, your ferocity. https://t.co/JGCSKJwhPi
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) January 21, 2018
