[1][2][3][4] In February 2018,[5] the Women's March faced controversy when reports emerged that three of its four lead organizers had attended events hosted by Louis Farrakhan.

Contributing factors included poor weather, reduced public interest, and the controversies surrounding the march’s leadership.

In 2018, Sarsour announced that the primary march organized by the national group would take place in Washington, D.C.[1][13] In November 2018, calls emerged for the four co-chairs to resign over their failure to denounce Louis Farrakhan.

[15][25] In November 2018, Teresa Shook, a co-founder of the Women's March, called for Bland, Mallory, Sarsour and Perez to resign, saying, "they have allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform by their refusal to separate themselves from groups that espouse these racist, hateful beliefs.

[29] In December 2018, a Tablet article alleged that during an early organizing meeting after the 2016 United States presidential election, Mallory and Perez repeated antisemitic claims from Louis Farrakhan’s book The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.

The article recounted claims by fellow organizer Vanessa Wruble that Mallory and Perez accused Jews of dominating the American slave trade and exploiting racial minorities.

"[6] Noted speakers at various events included[32] Kirsten Gillibrand,[33] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,[34] Ayanna Pressley[35] andBarbara Lee.

[36] Nancy Pelosi joined marchers in San Francisco[37] as well as Eric Garcetti on the march in Los Angeles.

[49] The Women's Agenda was developed in collaboration with 70 movement leaders and includes 24 federal policy priorities considered essential by the organization.

To provide detailed insights into each goal, the organization published a 71-page document outlining the objectives and the theory of change for achieving them.

[53][54] Humboldt County is approximately 74 percent non-Hispanic white, prompting debate over whether the demographic makeup of participants warranted the cancellation.

[56] Organizers also announced plans to hold a separate event in March to celebrate International Women's Day.

[67] Guereca had promised Nicole Guzik, a Los Angeles rabbi, that the event would not allow criticism of Israel or speeches discussing Israeli apartheid.

[76] The New Orleans Women's March was canceled in early January 2019 due to allegations of antisemitism against the national leadership.

In a statement, the local chapter explained, "The controversy is dampening efforts of sister marches to fundraise, enlist involvement, find sponsors, and attendee numbers have drastically declined this year.

[80] Alliance organizer Katherine Siemionko reported that her group had lost "thousands" of social media followers and donors, and prominent individuals declined invitations to speak at the march.

One march, affiliated with the national group led by Sarsour and Tamika Mallory, held a permit for a rally at Foley Square.