Madonna: Is One-Hit Wonder Donna Lewis Using Her To Get Attention?

Ask Elton John. Ask Rupert Everett. Basically, ask almost any PR executive and they’ll tell you that criticizing Madonna in the press will surely get you publicity. Donna Lewis singer of a 1996 hit (certainly a good one) called “I Love You Always Forever” has come after Madonna for “not acting her age.” Evening Times has the news.

“‘It is sad that Madonna is ‘obsessed with being so young,’ according to Welsh singer-songwriter Donna Lewis… Donna, best known for her 1996 hit I Love You Always Forever, said the drive to look young and the sexualisation of the music industry were off-putting.”

Donna Lewis uses Madonna’s Prince tribute as an example of the Queen of Pop trying to look and act too young, despite the fact that she was fully dressed and didn’t display any antics that people think are desperate. Of course, there are many who would agree that Madonna needs to act more age-appropriate, but why is Donna Lewis suddenly coming out against Madonna?

It’s quite telling that 42-year-old Donna Lewis can tell an older woman how to act. As many Madonna fans have noted, Donna’s frizzy hairstyle could be “appropriated” from a 20-year old. Should Lewis put her hair in a bun and act her age?

Madonna’s fans have taken to Twitter to criticize Donna Lewis.

Madonna certainly isn’t beyond criticism, but the ageism displayed against her over the past ten years is relentless and very telling of the people who criticize her. Kyle McMahon from the Huffington Post recently wrote about the issue.

“Madonna’s age is not her problem. It’s your own problem. It’s the mindset some have that women of a certain age should act a certain way, look a certain way and talk a certain way. In fact, if you have a problem with Madonna and what she does, it’s only your problem that you’ve created in your mind.”

McMahon adds that there is no rulebook that states that on a certain date, a woman has to stop wearing clothes that she likes just because society says so. Of course, these rules were never put in place for male musical stars such as Steven Tyler, Bruce Springsteen, or Mick Jagger.

When Mick Jagger performed in Los Angeles back in 2013, he was seen putting a microphone in his pants. Bruce Springsteen hasn’t had anything close to a hit since 1997’s “Secret Garden,” but nobody told him to “put it away” when he did a pelvic thrust towards a camera operator at the 2009 Super Bowl. Then, there was Anthony Kiedis, who was half naked at the 2014 Super Bowl.

Madonna’s critics will instantly say that these artists have talent and Madonna doesn’t. Like Springsteen, Jagger, or Dylan, Madonna technically doesn’t have the voice that will blow away American Idol, but she writes her own melodies, pens her own lyrics, and is the top-selling female artist in music history. Just ask collaborators such as Rick Nowels and Patrick Leonard about Madonna’s alleged “lack of talent.”

It’s quite sad that after selling over 300 million albums and selling over $1 billion worth of concert tickets, Madonna still has something to prove. Then again, having something to prove is what keeps Madonna ticking, and her fans can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]