— Madonna to Rolling Stone, speaking up for victims of age discrimination everwhere
“No one would dare to say a degrading remark about being black or dare to say a degrading remark on Instagram about someone being gay. But my age – anybody and everybody would say something degrading to me. And I always think to myself, why is that accepted? What’s the difference between that and racism, or any discrimination? They’re judging me by my age. I don’t understand. I’m trying to get my head around it. Because women, generally, when they reach a certain age, have accepted that they’re not allowed to behave a certain way. But I don’t follow the rules. I never did, and I’m not going to start.”
demented
Whatever, Madonna. Other female artists as old or older than you are are seen as sexy and cool still, so maybe the problem is with you.
Uppity
If Madonna is truly seeking to campaign against ageism, then she should hire only dancers in their fifties for all her future performances. So nobody on her stage is ever under fifty. I wonder how her diehard defenders will feel about that ..
MisterDemand
Madonna, you get hate about you age for the same reason you get hate about your British accent. Your’re a phony! Your’re not some hip, British, 29-year-old starlet. Nor are you relevant anymore.
While we’re on the subject: Travolta, lose the hair piece- you look much better without it, and just creepy with it on- you are sixty- no expects you to have those thick Grease locks anymore.
Cam
I have never really seen Madonna advocate for anything other than herself. She gave lip service which was better than nothing, but she has always kind of been about herself.
Did she ever speak out against ageism when she was younger? If she didn’t get two sh*ts about it then, and only cares now because it effects her, then why would she expect others whom it doesn’t effect to care?
Frankly I think it sucks that she is mocked and called old but on the other hand, her outrage about it seems irritating because she never really seems to care that much about anything else outside her own life. If Madonna found the fountain of youth and became 23 again, she would never lift a finger to talk about ageism is my guess.
MarionPaige
Who reads Rolling Stone these days? I mean, seriously … last time I bought Rolling Stone was when it did an article about The Bryan Kocis Murder.
OrchidIslander
I have never thought that gay men are, in general, an objective forum when it comes to the issues of aging. There is a lot of truth to cliche of gay men and their fear, and loathing, of age.
Madonna has never stopped being Madonna. She was all about provocation and self-promotion back in the day and she is still at it. What was so sensational and edgy back then is now tarnished because she’s doing what an older person shouldn’t be.
I’ve never been a big fan of Madonna’s until a friend took me – kicking and screaming – to her Confessions tour. It was an entertainment extravaganza and I gave her major props for the artistry and professionalism of her show. I also thought she was very generous with her performance and her time on stage. I became a fan.
Whether one likes – or loathes – Madonna is immaterial. She is here to stay and apparently unapologetic about the effects her actions have on others.
I hope older people everywhere adopt her attitude that in no way should any one older look to those who happen to be younger for approval or validation.
CCTR
A statement from Madonna worth applauding! Bigotry and discrimination are what they are and the world could use a whole lot less of that.
cflekken
@demented: LOL. And whatever female artist her age is doing what she’s doing? NONE. And that’s the point. Madonna is making music and performing like no other female artist at her age has tried before or current. She is defying that “age expectation” and people are giving her sh*t for it. Think before making comments like that.
cflekken
@Uppity: Good point, BUT, where are these dancers in their 50’s or 60’s that can keep up with the type of stage performance that Madonna produces? None (or very few). By this age, many have already hung up their dancing shoes.
cflekken
@Cam: Please. When Madonna was growing up, was there social media? Internet? No. Where were people able to anonymously or callously just make brutally critical comments about other people or new stories? Nowhere. For that matter, when Madonna was growing up, what female, in her 50’s, or even her 40’s, was going against the grain and doing these that weren’t “age appropriate”? Personally, I cannot think of any.
cflekken
@MisterDemand: LOL. “not relevant”, yet here you are commenting about her. Is that really the definition of “irrelevant”?
jantheman4903
@demented: because (and am sure many will disagree,thats fine)…she is more art than artist. she sings ok, dances reasonably well, is nice looking. good package. but put her against bonny raitt on a stage both performing their songs…no contest.
Giancarlo85
As I have said in the other threads… people scream and cry about Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and others not being relevant… but these older artists seem to get bigger crowds then the younger artists. Some are totally and utterly delusional when they say these artists aren’t relevant.
Sorry, but they are. And your newer younger artists like Gaga (and I do like her) and Rihanna have had to scale back, cancel shows and barely fill in stadiums anymore.
Madonna is a self promoter much like Mick Jagger. People have been telling them to quit for years as they are too old, but those people usually spout out of thin air. They rave about young artists who don’t last more than a couple of years.
Gaga, as much as I liked her (well at least everything up to the album Born This Way) does not have the staying power other artists do. And even she likes bands like Queen, Stones, Springsteen, etc.
Tell me why do Madonna, Springsteen, Jagger and the Stones keep on selling out concerts and your younger artists can’t even sell all their tickets? Answer that one. I don’t expect an answer.
MarionPaige
@cflekken: And what female artist her age is doing what she’s doing?
I would volunteer Chita Rivera as comparable to the flack Madonna is getting. There aren’t a lot of 80 year olds doing broadway musicals.
People appropriately make jokes about Chita Rivera being kept in a plastic bag between performances.
Giancarlo85
Did Tina Turner get this kind of phony outrage when she did her show in 2008? She was 69 years old then? I saw her in 2008, she looked incredible for her age and so full of energy.
What about Cher? I don’t see the same outrage either.
Some on here need to take a chill pill.
dtpm
Madonna looks robotic surrounded by all those fantastic dancers. She should really do a Greta Garbo, that, would be her greatest performance yet. She would then remain truly iconic forever.
Uppity
@cflekken: How do we know they’re not there? Our ageist society renders them invisible. And Madonna’s ageist hiring practices don’t help. She needs to put her money where her mouth is, and seek them out, only hiring dancers who are over 50. Madonna’s fans need to get behind this campaign. Nobody performing in any of her shows should be under 50. Now that would truly be a statement against ageism. Come on Madonna fans, you know you want this.
Desert Boy
Madge, hunni, check it out. The medical reality is, women over the age of 50 are more likely to suffer serious and catastrophic bone breaks. I know you think your shit doesn’t stink but it’s a simple matter of biology.
ddean
Wow some seriously bitter queens on here. Go put your butt plug back in and lust after guys half your age. I think most of you wouldn’t have the balls to do half of what she’s done and most of you need a closer look in that mirror when casting judgement. I’m not even a huge fan even though most of my peers would slay me for saying that. Haters gonna hate no matter what you do.
Captain Obvious
This chick is really hoping if she keeps complaining enough something will finally stick. Sit down, lady.
She should do what Janet Jackson did and get her life.
Realitycheck
To all of those sour Bees, so worry (yawn) about Madge health,
reality check, she works out, and she has all of her life, she is not
your fat, old mama, with all of her medical problems LOL
Madonna has access to the best hormone replacement therapies
and more, frail bones and lack of energy or any other (70-80 year old
person) condition do not apply here, Madonna is in great shape for any
age and looks better then most kids in their 20s.
And her boy friends are better looking and in better shape then anything your
pathetic sour pussies can dig up LOL
I really would love to see pictures of these nasty queens spitting poison about madonna, I bet you all look like a 4,000 years old Egyptian mummy, dusty, LOL
wrinkled up and dry to the bone LOL
Paco
Well gay men do know what ageism and homophobia feels like. Sometimes both from our own community, so I am not surprised by many of the comments here.
OrchidIslander
@Captain Obvious: Did you really go all Janet Jackson on us? Janet – I’m too ill to perform so I’m canceling my shows never mind the poor ticket sales – Jackson? The Janet Jackson who – towards the end of touring – barely cracked $250,000 in revenue per concert?
She “got a life” because practically no one was purchasing her concert tickets and her albums sales were in the tank. The apparent end of one’s entertainment value is certainly a catalyst to get another life, because her preferred one was no longer working.
Janet Jackson would kill to have the enduring career success that Madonna possesses, not to mention the millions who attend Madonna’s concerts and the millions of dollars generated.
I’m becoming more and more of a Madonna fan, if for no other reason than the narrow mindset and expectations of what women of a certain age should be. There is a certain arrogance in telling someone who is extremely successful to “sit down” when they are doing what they love and, apparently, entertaining people around the world at the same time. Who are you to do that?
I hate to rag on Janet Jackson, but you were the one who went there with ill-formed comparisons.
She did marry well, however, so more props to her!
fiftybuff
The problem is not Madonna’s age. It’s that her music doesn’t stand up without the distractions. C’mon. Recording something called “Bitch I’m Madonna”?
If she was a solid singer with something interesting to offer, she wouldn’t need high heels and capes and shirtless male dancers wearing silly horns. These are desperate distractions to make up for inexcusably trite offerings. “Living for Love”? Wow, that’s a sentiment that has never been expressed before!
When did you ever see Ella, or Barbra, or Aretha, or Gladys, or Linda, getting pulled off a staircase by her cape? They didn’t need that stuff. Their voices and their songs were enough.
Uppity
@fiftybuff: She’s lashing out at the moment, accusing her detractors of ageism (even though she has an ageist policy herself of only hiring young dancers). But I do think she’ll get the message. Her tumble off the stairs was the first step. By 60, if she’s still gyrating in a leotard and heels, the cacophony of disapproval will be so loud that she’ll be forced to modify her performance. She’s a bit misguided on the ageist issue. The fact is, a lot of people simply don’t like her, and it has nothing to do with age. Straight men abandoned her a long time ago, and many women are at best ambivalent; they simply can’t relate to a 56-year-old billionaire who dates guys who are 20. In interviews, she’s frequently caustic and defensive, unless the interviewer is a fawning gay man. She does make great music though. Some of the songs from Rebel Heart sound like a solid return to form. Ultimately her music will always stand up, even though many people are now indifferent to the persona behind the music.
lykeitiz
@Realitycheck: Well, you’re name is certainly appropriate here, although I don’t know why you bothered to add all the “LOL”s when you’re speaking the absolute truth.
And @Giancarlo85: , I hope you keep repeating that on every Madonna thread until these keyboard commandos get a clue.
Giancarlo85
I am not even a big Madonna fan at all. But the comments about her age ought to stop. It just shows how fake these Rihanna and Britney fans are. Where is Rihanna and Britney anyways? None of these news artists have staying power. Even that Sam Smith guy is going to be a one hit wonder.
Artists like Madonna, Springsteen, the Stones and even Elton John
.. Make these young fleeting stars envious. Even Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj are yesterdays news.
Giancarlo85
@Giancarlo85: Sorry grammar isn’t good tonight. Tired… What a long day.
Also since I like Latin music, Juan Gabriel and Paulina Rubio are examples of stars who also have staying power… And versatility.
MisterDemand
@Giancarlo85:
….well of course those people have bigger audiences- they’ve been around for decades then thus have an inherently larger pool of fans! Most people i know over 50 don’t even know who Beyonce is… Madonna hasn’t been social relevant and decades, and everyone who isn’t a nostalgic groupie wishes she would just go away
martymart
@fiftybuff: She never claimed she’s a solid singer. She’s an entertainer. An excellent one. I think most people go to her shows do not expect mind blowing vocal performance.
Doughosier
She gets flack because she’s 56 and still selling sex. No one cared when Ella Fitzgerald or Barbra Streisand were still performing but a 56 year old stripper is going to get comments. Madonna has always been a singing stripper. Now that’s she’s getting older, it’s going to get criticism. It’s not just women. Remember when Geraldo Rivera took a naked selfie? He didn’t look bad but because of his age, people talked.
jason smeds
The problem with Madonna is that what she says does not correspond with how she behaves. She says she’s the victim of ageism but her own behavior appears to be designed to make her look youthful. Just look at the make-up she wears to hide her wrinkles as well as the Photo-Shopped pictures of her used to promote her latest music.
If she were truly proud of her age, she wouldn’t try to look younger than her years.
Tackle
The very thing she’s complaining about, (ageism) she practices herself. She judges people by their age. I don’t think she would ever date a man her age (56) or even around her age. This is just as bad as some Black or Asian guys complaining about r@cism: i.e. White guys not dating them. And the Black guy doesn’t date Blacks, and the Asian guy doesn’t date other Asians guys…
I hate the mentality, when I do it, it’s OK. But when it’s done to me, there is a problem…
Get out of here with that!
odowd4sure
@jason smeds – well said, bravo!!!! She is trying to be a hipster when actually she needs to be trying to avoid breaking a hip! Remember when she brought out a cane for the French rendition of Like a Wergin? She needs that cane now, no joke!! Ageism? Why is is she trying to outrun the wrinkles and crevices then by rearranging her face? No secret that she screwed it up with back alley plastic surgery and looks eerily similar to Pete Burns!! I think come August we all should get together and sing for Madge’s birthday and the perfect song shall be “Unhappy Birthday”.
Giancarlo85
@MisterDemand: That’s nonsense though. All of the artists I named are relevant. And other artists seem to include Mick Jaggers name in their songs. The Stones get a wide variety of people going to their concerts of all ages. That says it all.
Lots of sour faces on here.
Cam
@cflekken: said…”@Cam: Please. When Madonna was growing up, was there social media? Internet? No.”
___________________________________
What an idiotic comment. I get you’re a fan, but pretending that Madonna didn’t advocate for others because there wasn’t social media is just a cop out.
My point stands, it sucks that people are mocking her age, but if Madonna was suddenly 23 again she wouldn’t lift a finger to help older folks because it doesn’t effect her.
lykeitiz
@MisterDemand: said: “everyone who isn’t a nostalgic groupie wishes she would just go away”
Her last two tours in 2009 & 2012 are the highest grossing tours EVER by a solo female artist. Even with the males, they’re all groups except for Roger Waters. Not even Bruce Springsteen has a tour that has beaten her Sticky & Sweet Tour.
I didn’t realize there were that many nostalgic groupies on the planet. Maybe it’s you that people are wishing would just go away.
Giancarlo85
@lykeitiz: You can’t convince any of them. Madonna, Stones, Springsteen… all have had massively selling out tours and they attract a wide range of ages and people. Not just the old nostaglic fan.
Cam
@lykeitiz: I think Madonna is a great performer.
But in fairness, people who appeal to an older audience can have higher grossing tours because their fans are older and can afford higher ticket prices. So you get Rolling Stones tickets going for $600.00 while you’ll get Taylor Swift tickets for far far less because of the age of her fan base.
So tour gross isn’t a good number to go by. Number of tickets sold at venues would be a better measure.
jar
Well, she’s keeping current. She’s latched on to the zeitgeist that confaltes every criticism with discrimination. Madonna has not been the victim of ageism. No one has denied her a job because of her age. No one has ignored her personhood because of her age. She’s just behaving like an immature millenial (and their developmentally stunted forebears). But who would have expected anything more from her, really?
lykeitiz
@Cam: You’re right, but only to a point. Yes, with older acts come older fans with deeper pockets, but they also have a much larger playlist to choose from. Of course Madonna and the Rolling Stones are going to have a deeper catalog than the Taylor Swift’s or the Katy Perry’s. So, if you want to only count number of tickets sold rather than dollar amounts, then fine….both the Rolling Stones and Madonna have played and sold out stadiums on recent tours. Can’t really see Rihanna doing that. And, those stadium seats high in the sky are not expensive.
Also, this isn’t a scientific study, but every time I see Madonna live I’m surprised that the crowd seems to be a median age of 25 – 30……really.
So, @Giancarlo85: You’re right, but I’m still going to try! 🙂
Giancarlo85
@Cam: Nope. I went to the Stones in 2014, and I bought tickets… and I don’t make much money. So did the people around me. I bought a ticket for $85 (well they sold them in pairs for $85 each, so my bf went with me). They did that to make it more affordable. Oh and the seats were pretty good… in fact way better than I expected. I was quite close. Close enough to get good photographs of all the band members without using much zoom.
So your argument isn’t exactly a good one. Sorry. Oh, and as far as the age of the crowd… widely varied. I saw more young people (25-35) there than older people.
TomOH
Let’s see Madonna start hiring backup dancers her age, or even within 10 years of her age. Let’s see Madonna start hanging around and dating guys her age… who’s “ageist” now? When Madonna only wants to surround herself with people less than half her age, that’s pretty ageist too.
sectbrawn
“Baby Jane” Ciccone just needs to stop. Becoming irrelevant and having to leak your crappy album for publicity have nothing to do with “ageism”. It has everything to do with times have changed and you’re desperately clinging to the 90’s.
Giancarlo85
She is so irrelevant she sells all her concert tickets lmao… While artists like Rihanna and Taylor Swift don’t even come close.
I guess Swift is more relevant with that 1989 album that looks like a clone of Madonna album.
Cam
@Giancarlo85:
Why are you lying? There were MULTIPLE articles on the Stones ticket prices.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_22999370/rolling-stones-tour-high-prices-big-profits-disgruntled
Giancarlo85
@Cam: That article is utter opinionated garbage.
http://www.rollingstones.com/2013/04/06/rolling-stones-fans-offered-thousands-of-85-tickets-for-us-and-canada-tour/
Maybe you should learn how to read.
I’m not lying about anything. You’re the liar and you also have quite an attitude. I actually went to the concert.
Giancarlo85
By the way, dummy… I’ve seen prices for Gaga, One Direction, and Taylor Swift concerts. They are all comparable.
Take Taylor Swift for example…
http://www.ticketmaster.com/taylor-swift-the-1989-world-tour-pittsburgh-pennsylvania-06-06-2015/event/16004D5AC1AB1DA6
Yeah comparable.
Giancarlo85
The Gaga concert (Jan 21st, 2013 Staples) I went to last was $125.00. The Stones Concert was $85 (I think maybe $95 if I count the “convenience fee”). I had better seats in the Stones Concert (2013)… that says it all.
Who is the liar now?