Madonna Hits Back at the Ageist and Misogynistic Comments About Her Grammys Look
The pop icon, Madonna introduced a performance by non-binary musician, Sam Smith and transgender singer, Kim Petras at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 5. The pair had earlier won a Grammy award for best pop duo or group performance, for their song Unholy. Unfortunately, the focus quickly shifted from her powerful speech to her appearance. Her pictures went viral, minutes after she delivered the speech which applauded the duo for being daring, provocative, and dangerous in music.
Fans as well as the music industry had mixed opinions about Madonna's facelift. They weren't shy to troll the megastar the moment she left the stage. People took to social media to criticize her appearance, with many blaming cosmetic surgeries for her look. When the fashion icon posted a video on her Instagram captioned 'And the winner is........" an online user, @joe_colabella commented, "... not your plastic surgeon."
"All your money and this is what you did to that absolutely gorgeous face of yours??" a fan commented. A commenter, @c3dmthx had a really strong opinion about her look, "I don’t think she even realizes how shocking her appearance is. I used to adore Madonna, but she failed herself and her fans, she’s become a person who followed the trends set by losers. She should have aged with dignity but chose to try and prove something she didn’t need to prove." According to many of her fans, she was "ruining" her face, and they commented that she doesn't know "how to age gracefully."
Indian Express reported that UK chat show host Piers Morgan took to Instagram to post a closeup shot of Madonna with the caption, “I thought Halloween was in October?”
The 64-year-old singer took to Instagram to address all the remarks regarding her appearance and the hateful comments. "Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim," she wrote in her post, "many people chose to only talk about close-up photos of me taken with a long lens camera by a press photographer that would distort anyone’s face!!" she wrote, alongside a video montage of her posing with Smith and other peers and celebrities including Cardi B and DJ Honey Dijon.
“I wanted to give the last award which was Album of the Year," she continued, writing about what she wanted people to focus on instead, "but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans woman performing at the Grammys – a history-making moment!! And on top of that, she won a Grammy!!”
The 64-year-old singer denounced the entertainment industry for its biases against women who have continued to work long into their careers.“Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in,” she said. “A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 and feels the need to punish her if she continues to be strong-willed, hard-working, and adventurous.
She said she has never apologized for any of the creative choices she has made nor for the way that she looks or dresses, and she was not going to start now. “I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come." She quoted Beyoncé, who broke the record for most Grammy wins of all time with her songs from this year’s ceremony, writing: “You won’t break my soul.”
