Madonna Was Right To Want Custody Of Rocco Ritchie [Opinion]

Last December, it was revealed that Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie ran away from her Rebel Heart Tour to be with his dad. The New York Daily News first reported on the issue last December.

“Rocco Ritchie, the 15-year-old son of the pop diva and film director Guy Ritchie, says he wants to stay with his dad in London, not his mom in New York. But he must return from London — where he’s been visiting Ritchie — thanks to an order Wednesday from a Manhattan Supreme Court judge.”

Without knowing what truly happened, many in the press blamed Madonna. She was age-shamed, slut-shamed, mother-shamed, and shamed in just about every other way possible. Almost immediately, the tabloids went in for the kill and dug up past posts of Madonna’s on Instagram in order to claim she embarrassed her son Rocco. Never mind that the posts (with pictures) mentioned also appeared on Rocco’s Instagram, so he couldn’t have been too embarrassed.

The New York Post wrote an article titled, “Why Madonna’s kids want nothing to do with her,” which was filled with questionable facts, especially because Madonna and her daughter Lourdes are extremely close. Despite attending the University of Michigan, Lourdes spent time on the weekends with Madonna at different stops on her Rebel Heart Tour. Still, the New York Post‘s hit piece was actually one of the nicer articles.

It had been rumored through sources close to Guy Ritchie and Madonna that the Queen of Pop has always been a strict disciplinarian, and that her ex-husband is very easy going. Madonna believed Guy was trying to turn their child against her, while Guy Richie allegedly just wanted his son to be happy. In any case, Madonna reconciled with Rocco Ritchie last May, and both of them have been seen together several times since.

The two reconciled months before a final custody arrangement was reached. Still, instead of being happy for the family, many media outlets, including the usually reliable Daily Beast, gleefully reported that Madonna “lost the custody battle,” despite the fact that it was settled. Technically, a case that is settled means that both sides came to an agreement.

But even more important than this is the fact that during the past several months, Rocco Ritchie has been seen in tabloids and videos doing things that any parent would be concerned about. It all came to a climax yesterday, when it was revealed that Rocco was actually arrested. The Sun broke the news.

“MADONNA’S troubled son Rocco Ritchie has been arrested in a cannabis bust. Rocco, 16, was caught with cannabis in his rucksack after neighbours fed up with his bad behaviour reported him to cops. Sources said cops were alerted and saw the 16-year-old sitting on a wall with a male pal.”

The article adds that as the cops approached, Rocco was seen tossing something away. Officers are said to have noticed traces of cannabis on his clothes. Of course, many will say that Rocco was just doing things that a normal teenager does.

Sixteen year old Rocco Ritchie-behaving like an uppity teenager…Never heard of that before, have you:)

— Nell kane (@NellKane12) November 23, 2016

Yes, Rocco doesn’t deserve to be locked up for years, but a 16-year-old smoking pot out in the open is something to be concerned about. Madonna was afraid stuff like this would happen if Rocco went to live with his father, and her fears were completely confirmed.

Of course, there are people — once again — blaming Rocco’s troubles on Madonna rather than Guy Ritchie, the father he is living with right now. Of course, Guy Ritchie may not deserve to have fingers pointed at him either. But the hypocritical criticism of Madonna, which has gone on for over 30 years, has now reached levels of parody.

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]