Rosie O'Donnell is lending her voice to highlight a group of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers.
The comedian and former "The View" cohost joined eight women, who said they survived Epstein's sexual abuse and sex-trafficking operation, for a performance of Helen Reddy’s feminist anthem "I Am Woman."
O’Donnell shared a video of the performance on Instagram on Sept. 3, which begins with the group sitting together in a circle as O'Donnell thanks the women for participating and discusses how they will stage the performance.
"I know it's been very hard for you and with very little support," O'Donnell tells the accusers. "I'm sorry that our country is so [messed] up that this is what you have to live through, because you are all heroes, and you're going to change
how the world deals with child sex abuse."
The women featured in the video are Andrea Sterling, Sharlene Rochard, Lara Blume McGee, Jena-lisa Jones, Wendy Pesante, Lisa Phillips, Marina Lacerda and Chauntae Davies.
For the musical portion of the video, O'Donnell and the eight accusers stand side by side dressed in white. They hold hands, raise their joined arms and sing Reddy's 1972 empowerment anthem together. The video concludes with childhood photos of the alleged victims and messages urging viewers to support them and pay attention to the Epstein files.
In the post's caption, O'Donnell said she organized the performance after comments from Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney.
"After the corrupt AG (trumps former personal lawyer) implied that he did not believe men accused of sex abuse would be charged as a result of the Epstein files – despite mountains of evidence …," O’Donnell wrote in her caption.
O’Donnell appeared to be referring to Blanche's Feb. 1 appearance on CNN's "State of the Union." When asked about possible additional charges, the then-deputy attorney general told CNN's Dana Bash: "I can't talk about any investigations, but I will say the following, which is that in July, the Department of Justice said that we had reviewed the files, the Epstein files, and there was nothing in there that allowed us to prosecute anybody."
USA TODAY has reached out to Blanche's office for comment.
O'Donnell said she then contacted several accusers and invited them to sing a song that "taught me at 10 years old to use my voice."
The actor also urged her followers to show support for accusers of abuse by reposting the video, creating a duet or recording their own version of the famous song. "Be brave enough to speak out," O'Donnell wrote.
Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. The release and handling of government records connected to Epstein and his network have continued to face public scrutiny.
O'Donnell's performance comes shortly after her weeklong stint as a guest host on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" During her appearances, she repeatedly criticized Trump, with whom she has maintained a highly public feud for years. Jimmy Kimmel shared O'Donnell's video with the Epstein accusers on his Instagram story.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rosie O'Donnell sings 'I Am Woman' with Epstein accusers
