One of the viral moments at the Women’s March in DC on Saturday (and there were so many, did you see this amazing a cappella song?!) was Ashley Judd reciting 19 year-old Nina Donovan’s beat poem about being a nasty woman. You can see her recite it below. Ashley gives proper credit to Nina and explains that she has “given me the privilege of telling you what she has to say.” Some of the shares on social media omitted the introduction and incorrectly attributed the poem to Ashley, but to be fair she was clear that she didn’t write it. Given everything I’ve heard from and about Ashley over the years I wasn’t as moved as others were by her recitation, but my friends who don’t follow gossip as much as I do loved it and shared it. It was a powerful message about how terrible the other side is, and how their racism, homophobia, misogyny and hatred are what’s truly nasty, not us. There was some additional controversy as the poem said Trump’s daughter was his “favorite sex symbol” and that he had wet dreams about her. (To be clear Trump didn’t say that exactly, but he has said very questionable things about Ivanka.) So I can get why Ashley’s poem, delivered so powerfully, could rankle some Republicans but let’s face it those people can get offended by just about anything.
Ashley isn’t close with her half sister (they have the same mom, Naomi), country singer Wynonna Judd. In 2013 Ashley accused Wynonna of putting a tracking device on her car and called the cops over it. Wynonna admitted that she put the tracking device on the car but stated that it was meant for her teenage daughter who was then living with Ashley. So there’s no love lost between Wynonna and Ashley. What’s more is that their mom, Naomi, lives just a mile down the road from Ashley and is close with her but admits she is currently estranged from Wynonna. Wynonna isn’t getting along or speaking with Ashley or Naomi from what I can tell. So that’s context for Wynonna’s Twitter responses about Ashley’s speech at the Women’s March. She tweets incessantly and she spent a lot of time soothing the egos of Trump supporters.
@hall7770 I meant no disrespect. It just makes me sad to be connected to all the toxicity. I'm an artist & I'm fun dangit!✌🏽
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 21, 2017
@hall7770 I've performed for 5 presidents. I'm for our country. Period. No matter who's president, God's king. I sing for him & the people.
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 21, 2017
@1snowchaser I don't support words of hate. You can love someone & agreed to disagree. In family, we cannot control anyone but ourselves…
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 21, 2017
The whole thing is toxic. I'm not giving her all the credit. She doesn't have that kind of power. https://t.co/GuUpBnLFYM
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 21, 2017
@JFYoung12 I don't think she has that much power, not with me anyway. I can take care of myself. You watch me.💪🏽
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 22, 2017
After that Wynonna defended herself and kind of backed down:
@mrs_silva33 @edmund1530 It's my job to love my sister, not to publicly judge her. That will be a conversation we have personally.
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 22, 2017
Lol, I have to say… I love how so many are telling me what I should or should not be doing about my relationship w/ my sister. Wow.
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 24, 2017
Last time I saw my sister we hugged. And, in our family we agree to disagree and we support WHO we are. Anyone else relate?
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 24, 2017
(1) I will not defend what doesn't need defending, (God knows my heart & my family does too), & (2)
I am not my sister's keeper. The end.— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 24, 2017
What she does publicly is none of my business. If she asks, I will tell her what I think personally.
There is a higher power & I am not it.— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 24, 2017
🎶🇺🇸🎶 What if we took the next 24hrs and talked about the positive? I'll go first.
We live in the greatest country in the world!!!! 🎶🇺🇸🎶— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 24, 2017
So is Wynonna saying that only God can judge Ashley but that she doesn’t agree with Ashley’s position and would play for Trump? She tweeted later that she was invited to perform at the inauguration but obviously she didn’t go or she would have been one of the biggest names there. It was hard to find these tweets because she posts and replies SO MUCH on Twitter, including defending herself to Trump fans. Whatever she means, she knows her audience and you can tell she doesn’t care for Ashley at all. She writes that the last time she saw Ashley she hugged her but I would bet that was LONG time ago. Here are more of her tweets. There are even more I didn’t include and she must spend the whole day on Twitter.
@shanoneads In my earlier tweet I posted that those words were said to me by her and that in spite of them I chose to love anyway.
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 21, 2017
@Serenitypleaz1 @TasteOfCountry I think many give themselves way too much credit & think that the world needs to hear what they think.
— Wynonna (@Wynonna) January 22, 2017
Here’s Ashley’s recitation of the nasty woman poem. We do want to hear what celebrities think. We do want to see them at our rallies. I’m sure the other side feels the same, they just have very meager support from Hollywood.
This is from 2004
2003
2001:
It was a powerful poem and she delivered it well, thou she did interrupt Michael Moore who was still speaking when she started talking.
I don’t mind her, she’s a decent actress and seems like a no BS kinda person – kinda like Charlize Theron who gets a lot of flack for being someone who ‘takes no BS’. She’s a very passionate activist and thats always a good thing!!
Her sister sounds jealous of her and looking for attention.
THIS
Agreed!!
Jealous of both her mum and sis. I remember years ago, Wynona tried to make a cottage industry of the feud with the mum. For over a decade they were constantly on Oprah hashing out all kinds of slights from their music touring. They even had a reality show (sorry, “docuseries”) about that. You know how Carrie Fisher had some jealousy issues about having a beautiful beloved slightly oblivious star for a mum but dealt with it through humor and writing? Wynona deals with it through bitterness. And it didnt help that her baby sister turned out to be not just prettier but more successful than her too. Shes a Bitter Betty.
If you’ve never had to deal with a truly narcissistic sister or mother, I just don’t think you’d understand. The feeling is not jealously. Bitterness is a better word. Humor helps if you’ve got an ally.
Well, Naomi apparently treated Wynonna and Ashley very differently. I’d always assumed that because Naomi and Wynonna performed together they must have been closer, but the mom seems to have preferred Ashley. Wynonna has long struggled with her weight, and Ashley was a slim, beautiful model as a teen whom Naomi gushed over. Because they did have different fathers, Wynonna and Ashley don’t look much alike and that was a factor as well as the fact that Naomi may have been more fond of Ash’s father than Wynonna’s. I have half-siblings and refer to them as such because I didn’t grow up with them. One of them I talk to almost every day, but our upbringings are different, so I often call her half-sibling when discussing her with strangers or those who knew me as an only child growing up. Anyway, Wynonna seems to have had lots of problems, including, I believe, marrying a man who turned out to be a sex offender. Ashley suffered from growing up and not knowing who her real father was, but it seems like she’s worked a lot on herself. I also admire any celebrity who makes the effort to get a college degree like she and Eva Longoria. I have liked Ashley since “Sisters” and “Ruby in Paradise” and will always be in her corner.
Umm hmm There it is! Pressed lower profile and petty
@Ramona yes I remember those interviews too. I made my remark based off that and other times. She just always seemed jealous of Ashley you can see it anytimes she talks about her.
@WTW Thanks for the background on the sisters. I think Ashley seemed to get more attention than Wynonna so it’s like now she is getting some attention so she was trying to milk it a bit.
Who knows the real deal between why they are estranged but there was no need for her to dig at her sister on social media like that. Classless.
There were tons of speakers set up. I think they all have a pretty strict allotted time to adhere to, so they can get off and let the next one on. I got the feeling that Michael went way over the allotted time and ignored the warning, and tired of waiting, she just went on or some organizer told her to.
I was there. Ashely was amazing and she electrified the crowd. Michael Moore showed up unprepared and was on what seemed to be an endless ramble about the short comings of the Democratic Party. Everyone was relieved when Ashley cut him off.
+1 I was there too and you’re right. Ashley brought the energy back up.
Michael Moore attempted to take ownership of the Women’s March. All other speakers, including Steinem, were clear that they had been given a time limit because there was a packed program. It was very Michael Moore to think the event was all about him. After that, they started cutting people off by turning off their mics.
I got that feeling as well. It was jarring to see him standing there, delivering an apparently endless list of instructions to us ladiez on how we can be more effective going forward, never mind that the ladiez and their allies are clearly very well able to be effective considering they organized and created the march. He had good points, but seemed mostly to just be enjoying his platform to speak endlessly.
To be clear, I absolutely think that men have a place in the feminist movements and the anti-trump and any other pro-equality movements. But the whole point is for men, especially white men, to realize that their words and their time are not more valuable than the time allotted to the other women/trans/minority/etc speakers. To continue to speak despite being aware of the time slot is just arrogant and really not in the spirit of what everyone was there for.
I was really happy that someone, anyone, finally put a stop to it.
MM has been intent on throwing Hillary under the bus for not having beer with the rust belt residents. Factually speaking, the illegal hacking campaign of propaganda via the Russians & RNC are what lost the election. MM has great conspiracy theories but I felt an edge about him throughout the campaign. I do see his point, and we need to get more aggressive in 2018 to have more Democrats back in the senate.
I can’t with Michael Moore after he went to the media to say he had information that Trump was going to step down as a candidate before the elections because he was only seeing how far he could get.
I trusted him, but now I honestly don’t know what made him say what he said.
I heard Michael Moore speak when I was in college (and he was supposedly paid as much as an adjunct professor earned in an entire semester, which is just insane). I left very unimpressed. I still remember commenting to a friend that, in his own way, he was as damaging to American democracy and political discourse as Rush Limbaugh.
I agree. He just creates a distraction and easy target for the Right.
Michael Moore would make a documentary about foot fungus and how it leads to government waste if he could make money from it. He has become what he once abhorred . . . a hired gun who only wants to make money.
This family is a dramatic mess.
Yeah, honestly, it sounds like a giant mess. Wynonna is estranged from her mother, sister AND daughter by the sounds?
Seriously. I remember when they took their messy selfs on Oprah. Talk about uncomfortable.
I remember that! Did Wynonna sing “I Wanna Know What Love Is” at the end? I know it’s a well-known song, but it felt incredibly passive aggressive given Naomi and Ashley were sitting right there.
I remember them on a talk show, Oprah?, and Wynonna was making a very heartfelt confession, spilling her guts out about her mental health problems, weight struggle, relationship issues etc etc. and how she was going to a rehabilitive center soon to get help. It was very somber…and then Ashley piped in “I think I’ll go too!” WTF
You betcha. Personally, I steer clear from both sisters (and their mother) and anything they have to say.
That is their common link — drama (led by their drama mama).
Aw, look at all the poor butt hurt Cheeto Mussolini supporters. She shouldn’t have engaged with them in the first place. Period.
For the life of me I cannot understand how people are criticizing the march as hateful or vulgar…all while supporting Donald Trump. What the actual f^ck?
I didn’t know much about Wynonna but heard her on a radio show a few weeks ago and she kinda rubbed me the wrong way, very full of herself and obnoxious. But I give her credit for trying to stand up to Ashley. Who I’ve never really been a fan either. But her recitation was powerful.
Deflection? Easier to blame the other side rather than admit to themselves what they’ve done by supporting him?
Or just delusion.
Maybe, I honestly don’t know and it depresses the bejeezus out of me.
ETA, oops, I meant “stand up for Ashley,” not stand up “to.”
Those who are criticizing aren’t listening to what the marchers have to say but are listening instead to extreme right-wing commentary. According to them, the only reason why any of us marched is because we all want free late term abortions and free birth control.
I keep in mind that we are finding out more every day about Russian companies full of paid trolls who pretend to be US citizens online. They are given talking points and go online to fan flames of division. It worked to taint our elections, so I am sure Putin has not stopped funding this activity. It is suspicious to me that within a day or two the negative messages are instantly national and so clearly themed–too much trash left, marchers are selfish/mean, marching won’t ever make a difference, etc. Of course the alt-right media are spewing the same talking points. We are under a propaganda attack. The messages are not the point. Dividing us is. We must stay united. I am ignoring all critics. RESIST!
Ashley is passionate and she’s mad. I like her. It takes courage to be vocal against what is wrong. Silence can kill someone said so I am glad she spoke out.
Wynonna is estranged from her mother, from what she said in an interview. It’s been a couple of years. Which is odd, because they all live in different areas on the same plot of massive land. Although, I think the mom can be a piece of work and demanding. But she and Ashley, it didn’t sound like they were very close either. Although, Wynonna said she loved her in the interview.
Ashley had given an interview and said she sees her mother all the time, and just said she loves her sister. She sidestepped anything else.
That family and their relationships with each other is a mess, really.
Wynonna seems to be a drama queen, more like he mother than she realizes.
Those women singing I can’t Keep Quiet ….. wow. Just – wow.
Isn’t it an incredible song? I’d be all for that being the official song of the movement. As a metaphor it works on many levels.
I have seen numerous news clips of Ashley and read family articles over the years. I have never in my life seen someone that was more of a ME ME ME type person. Everything about her was desperately, bizarrely attention seeking.
So yea, all I could see at the March was an intentional headline-grabbing over-the-top performance of Ashley, by and for Ashley.
I can’t stand Trump, loved the March and find Wynnona and her mother a little odd but Ashley…really really dislike her.
Lainey has three blinds about her- “Abusing the help”, “Mute Stones”, and “Who would want to work with this.”
+1 I want to like her. And as a kid I thought she was so beautiful. But I just never ever liked her. Bad vibes. And yes, attention seeking and self centered.
I agree. Ashley is very attention seeking and me me me. Who really knows what is going on in this family except them.
Awww, so you’re pissed that your younger sister is getting some big press and you figured the easiest way to get some of that attention diverted to you is to go for the lowest of low hanging fruit by appealing to the bottom feeder’s rabid “patriotism”.
Shocker.
PS. We do NOT live in the greatest country in the world and soon there will be no difference between the US and the axis countries we used to call evil.
Just look at the list of countries that use capital punishment.
http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-countries-that-still-embrace-capital-punishment.html
Thanks for the link, SusanneToo. I’m assuming it’s quite an old article, as Indonesia executed Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukamaran on 28 April 2015. I don’t know how or why so many Aussies can still holiday there so frequently. Oh, wait. Yes, I do, but that’s another serious issue for another time.
@ grabbyhands, thank you!
You are not living in the gratest Country, there is no such…
I saw here on CB one Poster was saying that the whole world is centuries behind the us…. funny….it’s the other way around…
Some People should understand, that nationalism is not a good thing.
And for that Wynonna Frau, pure jealousy mixed with narcissm and it seems she is not very educated…
Totally agree! I want to shout from the rooftops, “Your grandfathers fought in WWII against this sh*t!”
Don’t know much about Ashley apart from she played Obama mum in that Netflix movoe and I like that she’s calling out trump ,so she’s good with me.
About her sister All I got is why do some white people use brown emojis? Especially white people who think it’s hate to call out a racist president?
She put a tracking device on her car, wtf?
Kentucky basketball fans are talking about booing her and banning her from their home games. Which makes me like her even more.
Yeah! That’ll learn that mouthy wummun. ISTG, I am done being polite. I hope they all get what they paid for. Yes, I realize that means I will suffer too, but I’m probably already on some sort of watch list for speaking ill of Dear Leader.
My brother attended UK before transferring. When he was as student at UK, he met Ashley Judd a couple of times and has never had anything but nice things to say about her.
I’m so glad to see college students showing the depth of their intellectual knowledge by demanding a boycott by someone who recited a poem … what a banner day for UK … sigh.
(Also, can I just take the time to publicly celebrate my brother? He’s a straight white guy, and he’s horrified by Trump. He was planning to march on Saturday before he got hit with a nasty cold that’s going around, because he thinks it’s important sane people make sure Trump knows he is NOT America.)
Just to clarify, there is a big percentage of UK fans that never attended the college. Because Kentucky doesn’t have pro sports teams, the college teams take their place. Most of the outrage was posted by those who thought Ashley wasn’t lady-like with her comments, and by those who either posted on BBN sports blogs (mostlly older men, I would guess) and older women on social media. I don’t know more than a few UK students, and couldn’t tell you what the student population thought about this.
I have, however, seen both Ashley and Wynnona as guest speakers at events. Ashley was speaking at a charity fundraiser; she was very focused, honest and relatable. She spoke about her struggles growing up and I was left with the impression that she was on her own as a teen. Wynonna was speaking to a women’s leadership conference. She talked about problems with her mother. She also went on and on about the man in her life, how he was wonderful, helped her be in a good place, etc. They separated fairly soon after.
This family got film their own version of Family Feud. Wynona has had some rough hands dealt her way. Look, if she wanted to bash Ashley, it was easy enough for her to do so, and in MUCH clearer terms. Agreed- she has no business on Twitter. And she has(had?) an amazing voice.
Wy was the vocal talent (lead singer) of that ‘duo’, IMO. Mom was the dolled up backup. The first I ever saw Ashley was at an awards show, when mom and sister were at their peak in the early 80s. She was barely a teen at the time, and quite pretty. No doubt her career got its start thanks to their success.
It’s unfortunate they may not all be close now, but that happens as siblings go forth with their own interests and lives.
@Christin, she was a model first, and I don’t think her mother/sister’s success had much to do with it. From what I remember from their E! True Hollywood Story, they were off touring and Ashley managed to get herself a modeling contract., which delighted Naomi. After modeling in places like Asia, Ashley pursued an acting career as a young adult.
Celebrities bring attention, but what I appreciated a bit more were the everyday people who had clever signs and had their own reasons for participating.
The diversity and energy of so many people (famous or not) was inspiring.
By all means THIS. So awesome and beautiful.
I wouldn’t guess that Wynona and Ashley have a strained relationship from reading these tweets. Maybe I read them the wrong way? (I realize they do have strain in their relationship from reading general gossip — I’m just saying I wouldn’t guess it from reading these tweets).
Wynona seemed somewhat annoyed that people were trying to dictate to her how she should disagree with her sister and hash all this out in public.
These tweets were not particularly juicy, imo. All I got from them is that she was trying to defend herself and possibly not lose album sales without publicly dissing her sister (despite whatever private political disagreements they may or may not have).
Oh Ashley. A narcissist protesting a narcissist. But god bless her. Wynonna is a conservative Christian. But she is lovely and god bless her too. I used to wait on these ladies, Ashley actually worked at the same restaurant I did. She’s an ass. Wynonna is lovely but I disagree with her
@Evilqueen, what has Ashley done to make you consider her a narcissist. I know and like her from her early career but don’t keep abreast of everything in her life. I know she had some tiffs with other race car driver’s wives when married to Dario. Other than that, I’m in the dark. What happened?
I happened to be flipping channels a while back when her ex-husband Dario won a race. Indy 500? Huge accomplishment. Ashley ran out onto and around the track alone, running and skipping barefoot and waving her hat at the fans. For a long time. The camera stayed on her “victory” lap rather her husband. Then when she arrives at his car, ( he’s in the driver’s seat) she lays herself across the hood front and center for the photographers. It was truly bizarre. If you are just picturing a wife happy for her husband, I haven’t told the story well.
See also Lainey Blinds in comment 8.
What’s with Dumpers and Dumpettes running to Twitter with their bitterness? Are they all that thin skinned and sad? Not to mention insecure and fragile like antique glass?!?!
Short answer: yes. Plus, dumber than a bag of hammers.
And also, what’s with his hypocritical fan base? Do they have to take after their fuhrer?? How can you claim to not support hate, while praising Dump in the same damn sentence???
These are the same people who defend Trump (he of p**** gate) while condemning women who swore at the rallies. There’s a total lack of logic with them.
As someone else said above, I’ve reached my limit of politeness. Time for the idiots with no grasp of facts or reality to sit down and let the grown ups talk.
LOL. The Judds are all a bunch of drama queens but in a weirdly normal way. Ashley seems extremely annoying but one thing I’ve always appreciated about her is that she embraced the label feminist at a time when it wasn’t cool (pre-social justice warriors all over tumblr, twitter, etc). If she was going to try to capitalize on her sister and mom’s country music fanbase that wasn’t the way to do it. It made a big impression on me as a kid. I suspect Wynnona and I would disagree strongly politically but she’s probably a much nicer person. She needs to get the hell off twitter though. Good grief.
They are all bat $h!t crazy. Eh, family. What are you gonna do?
I was near the stage area and heard Ashley – where I was, the crowd LOVED her performance. As to cutting off Michael Moore, he was going on and on – about himself – and in our area, a chant was going up “let the women speak”. Ashley and others were all over the stage, it was clear Moore’s time was up, but he still kept talking. From where we were, it looked like they cut Moore’s mike. Thank God, he was entertaining for the first couple minutes but once it turned into Michael Moore random thought association, bleh. He seemed good natured about being cut off though – waved and smiled and shambled off stage.
Haha, no sense of irony in that last tweet…
I believe that Wynonna gets it, but she won’t speak up because her successful career is based on Nashville music business world rules. Take note of how popular country music stars toe the tea party/trump party line in every case no matter what (or they pretend to not be “political”). Kind of strange that so very few publicly acknowledge different opinions, isn’t it? The industry as brought to you by Nashville is an effective example of a repressive authoritarian system. It packages and sells a religious/conservative fantasy world to fans. Wynonna is pretty much trapped inside there and for sure cannot afford to associate publicly with feminists.
She looks insane in that pic. And has said some really off-the-charts stuff in the past.
Her mom just wrote a book about the family and the mental illness that runs in it. Maybe
a little more time in the chair and a little less behind the podium. Just saying.
So the little woman speaking her mind has a mental illness, not the President that tweets every boring emotion he feels. Maybe you should switch out the above two for sitting in the chair. Odd that you’re not calling out all the racist, offensive, sexist nonsense the President has been saying, but you probably agree with all of that trash.
Oh, how I loved the Judds. Still do. They’re a mess a little bit. But I love each one for no good reasons.
I liked the poem but I hope rich white celebrities don’t make the anti-Trump movement all about them.
Wynonna and Naomi have always had a toxic relationship, and I take Wynonna’s side in that battle. I watched the reality show they did a few years back that covered them touring in two separate buses, and simultaneously going through therapy. Wynonna was very level-headed, and Naomi was a total drama queen. It was also revealed that while Naomi always portrayed her extended family as being a very close, loving Southern family, their dysfunction was off the chain. I also noticed that Wynonna very frequently called her son and seemed close to him, yet her daughter Grace was rarely mentioned. So I think it’s a mother-daughter problem that’s lasted generations. Wynonna was put in situations most women wouldn’t expose their teenage daughters too, then would turn around and try to pull rank and boss Wynonna around.
Regarding Wynonna and Ashley, I totally take Ashley’s side. She was left behind with her father while her mother and sister were out becoming stars. Ashley said she was molested at 14 and Naomi and Wynonna called her a liar. And I clearly remember an Oprah episode with all three of them. Wynonna sat so self-righteously as a mother of two children born outside marriage, clutching her pearl and piously discussing how much she disproves of how Ashley “curses” in her movies. Now to be clear, I have no issues with single women having children, but to turn around all prune lipped about a few curse words, that Ashley is paid to say – hypocrite. For the entire run of the Judds fame, and Wynonna’s solo career, Ashley was 100% publically supportive. She appeared at their concerts, their televised events, and their awards ceremonies. She sat and cheered in the audience, and seemed to make no attempt to draw attention. And at some point, Ashley was equally famous to them. And we now know she’s suffered severe clinical depression. I can see Wynonna and Naomi being the type to tell her to “shake it off”, and “get over it”. The dysfunction in that family is fascinating, yet staggering.
She doesn’t support HATE but she spreads FEAR! Shut up and go make a LIfetime movie..never thought much of her acting skills!
I was there and I enjoyed her recitation of the poem. She was awesome! I liked what MM said too (it inspired me to take action), but he definitely ran over his time.
To me Wynona’s tweets were actually very level-headed and generous, especially when you consider they are estranged. Just imagine your most toxic personal relationship and have it play out in the media? That would be horrid! Why are we in such a frenzy to attack everyone and everything these days?
When I was in jail I read a book about the Judds. Apparently the mom and Wynonna were always fighting.