Ahead of Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration, a topless feminist activist crashed the unveiling of a lifelike statue of the president-elect at the Madrid Wax Museum, reports the Huffington Post.
The woman created a major disturbance at the event, grabbing the Trump statue’s crotch and shouting “grab patriarchy by the balls” in English. The message, also written on her back in large black letters, was a reference the now-infamous 2005 hot-mic video in which Trump was overheard bragging that his fame allowed him to “grab” women by the crotch.
Museum director Gonzalo Presa did his best to usher the woman offstage, attempting to cover her bare breasts with a balloon sculpture, a “Make America Great Again” trucker hat, and a winter coat. This effort was complicated by his apparent discomfort at touching a half naked woman.
Madrid Wax Museum director Gonzalo Presa tries to stop a topless Femen activist as she protests in front of a wax statue of US President-elect Donald Trump during its unveiling. Courtesy of Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images.
With “grab back” scrawled across her chest, the protester resisted the efforts of Presa and other museum staff, creating a bizarre scene set to the sounds of Quad City DJ’s 1996 hit “C’mon n’ Ride It (The Train),” which continued to play in the background.
Madrid is not the only city to immortalize the reality star-turned improbable world leader in wax. London’s famed wax museum, Madame Tussauds, has also created one of its eerily lifelike sculptures of Trump, using yak hair to capture his unique orange hairstyle.
A topless Femen activist with a sign painted on her back raises her fist as she protests in front of a wax statue of US President-elect Donald Trump during its unveiling at the Wax Museum of Madrid. Courtesy of Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images.
Trump’s unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton, the first woman nominated to the presidency by a major party, has prompted widespread response among women. The day after the inauguration, as many as 200,000 protesters are expected to join the Women’s March on Washington.
Meanwhile, in New York, nearly 600 women contributed artwork to “NASTY WOMEN,” an exhibition at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth, Queens. The sold-out show raised over $50,000 in support of Planned Parenthood, which provides affordable health care services to women across the US.
Global feminist organization FEMEN took credit for the Madrid action on Twitter, bragging that “FEMEN just grabbed Trump’s statue by the balls in Madrid.”