A host of Hollywood celebrities are planning to attend a People’s State of the Union protest as a ‘public alternative’ to President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address.
Mark Ruffalo, Lee Daniels, Michael Moore, Alyssa Milano and Whoopi Goldberg are among the A-listers who will attend the evening of speeches and music in New York in what is being billed as a way to celebrate the ‘resistance’ movement against Trump.
The star-studded event is set to take place Monday night, the day before Trump’s speech at the Town Hall, which is the historic venue in Manhattan founded as a meeting spot for suffragists more than 90 years ago.
Mark Ruffalo and Michael Moore are among the host of celebrities who will attend a People’s State of the Union protest in New York on Monday night. They are pictured above protesting at Trump Tower in August
‘In essence it’s a better reflection of our state of the union based on a more populist point of view, based on the people’s point of view,’ Ruffalo told People.
‘I think it’s important because we have a president who has a difficult time with the truth, who has a radical, divisive agenda, and spends an enormous amount of time focusing on the negative and hopelessness and despair.
‘We want to celebrate this moment that we’re in of what is now probably one of the most influential and powerful and really beautiful movements to come into play in the United States since the civil rights movement.’
He added that the event was ‘a celebration of the power and the beauty of this movement, but also of our accomplishments and to focus on what’s to come in the immediate future.’
Among those slated to perform at the protest are Andra Day and Common, who will sing their Grammy- and Oscar-nominated song Stand Up for Something from the film Marshall.
Whoopi Goldberg, pictured at New York’s Woman’s March, will attend the evening of speeches and music in what is being billed as a way to celebrate the ‘resistance’ against Trump
Alyssa Milano is also planning to attend. She revealed online that she will launch an initiative, #StateOfTheDream, on Tuesday to support immigrants and raise money for United We Dream
Ruffalo, a vocal progressive, said the evening will be an ‘inspirational event where activists and influencers join together to articulate a positive vision for our future, and how we’re going to win our country back.’
Host organizations include unions, organizers of the Women’s March and Planned Parenthood.
The event will be livestreamed at peoplessotu.org.
Online, Alyssa Milano on Tuesday will launch an initiative, #StateOfTheDream, to support immigrants and raise money for United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led organization.
In a statement, Milano called for social media users to create brief videos describing ‘your dream for America’ and post them at the same time, 9 p.m. EST, with the effort’s hashtag.
She urged on Twitter: ‘Please join us! Resist and persist with digital counter-programming to Trump’s #SOTU.’
