Gay Rights Pioneer Madonna Has Two Reasons To Celebrate

It’s easy to forget what a pioneer for gay rights Madonna has been. During the 1980s and early 1990s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Madonna promoted tolerance in her songs, videos, and concerts. She was widely condemned for doing so and, to a certain extent, it hurt her career. Towleroad recently listed why Madonna is the biggest pro-gay pop ally of all time.

Madonna was thrilled at the same-sex ruling by the Supreme Court and took to Instagram to show her excitement.

https://instagram.com/p/4ZiD19GEfu/?taken-by=madonna

Many of her fans, especially on her Facebook page, thanked her for being one of the only major public figures to stand up for gay rights at a time when gay people were treated like vicious animals.

“Madonna…you helped all of this by standing up for gay rights back when no celebrities did…OG #trendsetter #rebelheart #longlivethequeen,” wrote fan James Davis.

“Madonna Always there for us LGBT from the start!! Thank you Madonna for always being there for all of us!!! We love you!!!” wrote Shawn Welles.

The Supreme Court decision isn’t the only thing the Queen of Pop is celebrating today. It was just revealed that her latest single, “Bit*h I’m Madonna,” despite being a third and barely promoted single from her Rebel Heart album, has charted on Billboard’s Hot 100. Billboard announced Madonna’s latest (and sort of bittersweet) chart victory on Thursday.

“The third single from Madonna’s album Rebel Heart becomes the set’s first Hot 100 hit, preventing the LP from becoming her first studio album not to generate a Hot 100 entry. Lead single ‘Living for Love’ and follow-up ‘Ghosttown’ both fell shy of the list.”

Madonna’s single “Living for Love” was at the top of the iTunes chart for several days. However, because it was sold as part of an album package, Billboard didn’t count the sales towards their charts. It’s quite likely that “Living for Love” would have been a top 40 if Rebel Heart didn’t leak, which would have given the song a stand-alone traditional release.

Even if Madonna never scores a chart hit again, nobody can deny her legacy (although people are certainly trying). Madonna’s fans see her as a groundbreaking pop artist who broke the boundaries of female sexuality, gay rights, and now, ageism. What do you think Madonna’s biggest accomplishment is? Let us know in the comments section.

[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]