Madonna Louise Ciccone has always been there for us to fill the role of instigator whether in music, fashion, or societal norms.
In a new interview and photoshoot for V magazine, Madge held nothing back when it came to her views on the ever-present “cancel culture” of our current world and what she feels is a serious lack of discussion in the public sphere. Oh, she also staged some seriously epic Marilyn Monroe tribute photos, too.
"Peace is subjective," says Madonna. "The way people think about the pandemic, for instance, that the vaccination is the only answer or the polarization of thinking you're either on this side or the other. There's no debate, there's no discussion."
"That's something I want to disturb," the singer explains. "I want to disturb the fact that we're not encouraged to discuss it," she says, believing that it is the job of an artist "to disturb the status quo. The censoring that's going on in the world right now, that's pretty frightening. No one's allowed to speak their mind right now. No one's allowed to say what they really think about things for fear of being canceled, cancel culture. In cancel culture, disturbing the peace is probably an act of treason."
"The thing is the quieter you get, the more fearful you get, the more dangerous anything is," she continues. "We’re giving it power by shutting the f*** up completely."
The photos included in the new issue of V featuring Madonna have caused some controversy themselves. As NME points out, they seem to be a direct reference to Monroe’s final 1962 photoshoot with Bert Stern, eerily called “The Last Sitting.” Madonna’s pics however include visible prescription pill bottles, obviously a reference to the late movie icon’s tragic overdose at the age of 36.
“We were not interested in recreating the images exactly but more importantly, we wanted to explore the relationship between photographer and subject. Both the friendship and the artistic process, and how art can imitate life and vice versa,” photographer Steven Klein said via a press release. “When I sent Madonna the photos, she was really taken by the incandescent fragility of Marilyn at that moment in her life. We decided to find a hotel suite and try to capture the liaison between a star and the camera, the mystery, and magic of this creative collaboration.”
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In other news, Madonna recently released her latest concert film following her yearlong tour in support of her 14th studio album, Madame X, which wrapped just before the onset of coronavirus lockdowns on March 8, 2020, in Paris. Check out the full trailer right here.
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