Madonna

Madonna has found herself at the center of controversy again, and she probably couldn't be happier. That is how she made a name for herself in the first place. But this one sounds a little more serious than some of her past antics. This one involves a swastika on the face of a politician during her MDNA world tour, and as you can imagine, said politician isn't too happy about it.

At a concert in Paris on Saturday, a swastika was superimposed on an image of Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right party the National Front, and shortly after a man resembling Hitler appeared in the video. Madonna has used similar footage at other stops on her tour.

Now, the National Front says they're going to sue Madonna. And you know what? They might have a point.

Now before I get into my rant, I have to make something clear. I'm a big Madonna fan. Huge. I have most of her albums, I've been to her concerts, I dressed up as her for Halloween one year, and I read her biography. I know -- I'm pathetic.

On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of Ms. Le Pen, who ran in France's presidential election in the spring. But that doesn't mean I think she deserves to be likened to Hitler and have the Nazi symbol splashed across her face -- on Bastille Day, no less. As a public official, she has far fewer rights than the average person when it comes to things like defamation and libel and slander. But Madonna may have taken this one too far. And maybe this time she deserves to be held accountable.

Madonna has made a whole career out of pushing the buttons of big establishments. One of her favorites, of course, is the Catholic Church, but she's also taken aim at the U.S. government, the death penalty, marriage, and a whole bunch of other institutions. It makes for great performance art, makes powerful statements, and sells albums and tickets. She puts on one heck of a provocative show.

But that doesn't give her the right to compare whomever she wants to the most reviled man in history. As far as I know, Le Pen hasn't been involved in mass genocide and isn't trying to wipe the planet clean of certain races and ethnicities. So the suggestion that she and Hitler are two peas in a pod seems, well, just sliiiiiightly unfair.

We'll see if Le Pen's party actually makes good on its promise to sue Madonna. But at the very least, maybe she'll think twice next time before damaging someone's reputation for the sake of a killer concert.

Do you think Madonna should be sued for the swastika stunt?


Image via Splash