Counter Event to Trump’s UFC Fight Draws Smaller Audience
A Democratic-aligned organization hosted an event on Sunday to counter President Donald Trump’s UFC fight at the White House, but it attracted significantly fewer viewers, even with several celebrities participating.
While no official viewership stats have been released, a clip from the event held on the White House lawn has garnered millions of views. Reports indicate around 80,000 attendees were present. However, the event’s main stream, titled “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” had just 200,000 views on No Kings’ YouTube channel, while CSPAN’s coverage only reached about 22,000 views. Jane Fonda and other celebrities are asserting that the Trump administration is suppressing free speech, rekindling the conversation about the Committee on the First Amendment.
Among those present were notable progressive figures like former MSNBC host Joy Reid and actors Robert De Niro and Julia Roberts. Signs displayed during the event conveyed messages like “Resistance is built on hope” and “We will not be silenced.”
Fonda started the event with a passionate monologue on free speech, stating, “They come for one of us, by God, they come for all of us.” Reid, who was dismissed from her position in 2025, lamented the recent firings in media, claiming they were due to “far-right ideologues.”
“We were all shown the door just to do our jobs,” Reid expressed. She also claimed that Stephen Colbert was let go from CBS because “that orange bastard” doesn’t tolerate jokes anymore.
Actor Wilson Cruz stood against the removal of rainbow-painted sidewalks in Texas, referencing Governor Greg Abbott’s recent directive that aims to eliminate political messages from public spaces. Houston officials had removed a rainbow crosswalk and even suggested repainting parts of it. Cruz, accompanied by drag queens, stated, “When the governor painted all the rainbow-colored crosswalks, activists picked up their brushes and painted the sidewalks in their place.” He added, “Even when you take down our flag, you show us that we’ll raise it again.”
Robert De Niro didn’t hold back, expressing his displeasure with the Trump administration at the podium. He noted, “When I hear President Trump say he doesn’t care about the financial situation of the American people at all, I say shut up. He recently claimed, ‘I love inflation.’ Now tell me, shut up!”
