Madonna, you're not helping
By Jacki Schechner / current.com / @JackiSchechner
It's easy to forget she first broke through in 1983, and back then it would have been tough to find a teenage girl who didn't love her music or want to look just like her. Her style defines that decade. Throw an '80s party and watch how many otherwise chic women come dressed like Madonna, lace gloves and all. I'm with her on the Lady Gaga thing, too; I think "Born This Way" is a total rip-off. Madonna was doing shock and out-of-the-box before Gaga was born. Plus, at 54 54! she's in sick shape.
Sure, she's had some strange moments along the way, but fame and age can be a toxic concoction. Once you're on top, why would you want to be anywhere else? And it cannot be easy figuring out how to stay fascinating and relevant as an artist and performer in a world that now considers watching drunk, uneducated young adults stumble around the Jersey shore hit entertainment.
So it pains me to have to tell Madonna an icon, a legend, a powerful woman that she is just not helping. I don't mind one bit she decided to get political on stage during a concert in D.C. I was there for six years. I can tell you the town lives, breathes, and drinks oh, does it drink politics. It seems perfectly normal for a pop star to toss her two cents into the mix. I'm all good with urging the crowd to reelect President Obama. It's the "black Muslim" part of her endorsement I could do without.
She says now she was kidding. Tuesday's statement reads as follows:
"I was being ironic on stage. Yes, I know Obama is not a Muslim though I know that plenty o! f people in this country think he is. And what if he were?
The point I was making is that a good man is a good man, no matter who he prays to. I don't care what religion Obama is nor should anyone else in America."
But when you watch the tape, the characterization rolls right off her tongue as if she believes it to be true. No hesitation to let the absurdity sink it. No eye roll. No laugh. Just, "For better or for worse, we have a black Muslim in the White House. Now that is the sh*t" in the midst of celebrating his being the first African-American president and his support for gay rights.
I don't think Madonna is stupid. Just the opposite. I think she's a brilliant businesswoman and, most of the time, knows exactly what she's doing. That's why I'd beg her to be more careful with her words going forward. Because while she's savvy and casually may toy with irony, too many Americans don't pay attention and won't get the joke. They'll hear Madonna "admit" the president's a Muslim and run with it. The last thing we need is the Material Girl giving the crazies material.
Look, I can't tell you who may or may not vote for the president based on anything Madonna has to say. But I say don't ever underestimate the power of a woman who always has owned her image and sexuality, sold more records than any other female artist in history, and convinced millions of women it wasn't just OK, but totally cool, to wear a headband with a big fat bow.