More than 2 million people have signed an online petition urging the government to cancel Brexit, with support rocketing in the wake of Prime Minister Theresa May's statement Wednesday.

Whatever she hoped to achieve from her address to the nation, in which she blamed members of Parliament for the impasse in the Brexit process and told those who voted to break with the EU she was on their side, it is unlikely she expected a slew of celebrities to urge their social media followers to oppose her plan.

Parliament's petitions website repeatedly crashed as the number of signatures shot up — fueled by endorsements from singer Annie Lennox, actor Hugh Grant, science broadcaster Brian Cox and comedian David Mitchell.