Madonna Has Explained Her Heavily Criticised Aretha Franklin VMA’s “Tribute”
Madge was stitched up.
If you happened to glance over the internet yesterday afternoon, you might have noticed that a lot of people were very angry with Madonna.
More specifically, they were angry at her tribute to Aretha Franklin at the MTV VMAs, which took place yesterday, in which she basically talked all about her own career, and not that much about Aretha’s at all.
Consequently, she was widely criticised across social media:
“If it wasn’t for Aretha, we wouldn’t have Madonna”- Madonna
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) August 21, 2018
You do not disrespect an ICON like that. This is a jovial kiki about Madonna’s broken ass journey. You honor a legend by telling their story or SHUT UP. The AUDACITY.
— Nina Parker (@MzGossipGirl) August 21, 2018
I’m so lost. I thought Madonna was supposed to be paying homage to Aretha but I all heard was her paying homage to herself. HEAVY on the Mayonnaise……
— Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) August 21, 2018
But it turns out we were all a bit quick to judge: today, Madge clarified the incident on Instagram, writing that she actually wasn’t asked to give a specific tribute to Aretha, she was just asked to share an Aretha-anecdote that related to her own career. Which, to be fair, is exactly what she did.
“I was asked to present video of the year by MTV,” Madonna explained. “And then they asked me to share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin! I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her!
“That would be impossible in two minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show. I could never do her justice in this context or environment.”
That said, she didn’t exactly clear up the issue of what she was wearing — which included a headpiece traditionally worn by Moroccan Amazighs, an ethnic minority of North Africa.
See the full post from Madonna below.