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
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Comments 25
Sued for what? People are just too sensitive for every darn thing that enterainers say & do. They all do it for the very reason of you writing about them and it works everytime. All journalist get manipulated into writing about the celebrity. Haven't you guys learned yet?
I have an old quilt made by my grandmother with thissymbol. She made it well before WWII, before it represented nazi Germany. It stayed in the trunk of my car for years and was pulled out for picnics, or anytime a blanket to sit on outside was needed. My parents had used it for the same purpose, it was old and faded, so I never thought much about it--it had been around since I was a child. Only until one of my friends noticed that there were "swastikas" all over it, did I even think about it that way. Funny. I will say Madonna loves to provoke people--it's how she became famous in the first place. Her voice is just so so. She uses clothing, props and cultural symbols to draw attention.
I do not like to pay good money to attend concerts and be subjected to the artist's political views, whether I agee with them or not and the fact that she was in France and some members in the audience probably supported Le Pen, makes it worse. It reminds me of when the Dixie Chicks went to England and told them that they were ashamed of Bush. You don't do that in someone else's country. Also, what's up with her holding the gun in the picture? Either she's making another political statement or she's being careless. As far as the swastika specifically, I was familiar with the fact that it was a symbol of peace before it was equated with the Nazis. It's a little like the Confederate battle flag, which was only used in battle and not one of their national flags. However, since the KKK took it upon themselves to use it, it's now considered offensive to some people. By no means compared to the swastika, but a similar situation.