Ashley Judd’s fiery, powerful speech at the Women’s March on Washington was absolutely breathtaking. But despite her flawless delivery, she didn’t write the poem. Nina Mariah Donovan, a 19-year-old from Franklin, Tennessee, wrote “Nasty Woman” last year during the heat of the presidential election.
Judd attended Donovan’s first performance of the poem and was eventually inspired to perform it herself at the march. Donovan gladly agreed and spoke to The Tennessean after watching Judd perform. “I was seeing the physical form of everything I was saying in my poem,” she remarks. “If we keep fighting, we can all be equal one day. It just shows so much hope in this city and this nation.”
Watch Nina Donovan’s original version of #NastyWoman :: https://t.co/uAy7xksvWq. All the credit goes to her + @SouthernWord. #WomensMarch
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) January 21, 2017
Both Judd and Donovan are receiving backlash about “Nasty Woman,” mainly for the line where Donovan refers to Ivanka Trump as the new president’s “favorite sex symbol / Like wet dreams infused with your own genes.” Opponents cite the line as “sickening” and “disgusting.”
Despite the outrage, the 19-year-old stands behind her words. “I knew it was going to offend people,” Donovan says. “Everyone has their opinions but if I keep censoring myself then it’s not art. It’s no longer me.” She asserts that she never intended to offend the first daughter. “I don’t have anything against [Ivanka] but I do have something against a father sexualizing his daughter.”