Tori Amos Defends Madonna: Will Lady Gaga Be Next?
Madonna has been experiencing quite the backlash lately, with the media and internet trolls ripping her to shreds for her age. Some think Madonna, 56, is too old to have fun, too old to dance, and pretty much too old to even breathe. However, she has found a defender in Tori Amos, who talks about the backlash Madonna received when she fell at the Brit Awards in February. Tori Amos tells the Guardian why she thinks Madonna should be admired, not ridiculed.
“Madonna is an entertainer. There are very few people who could’ve gotten up off that floor. It wasn’t because of her that she fell, but it was because of her that the performance carried on. Some of the vilification comes from women as much as men. She’s making choices and she’s able to do things physically that a lot of people 25 years younger can’t; she got up and refused to allow that to shame her.. It makes me sad that we can’t embrace Madonna and say, Wow, this is an artist who’s expressing herself in a certain way.”
As an example of the ageism Madonna faces, one could look at the tweet Umami Burger sent out about Madonna that many would consider ageist and misogynistic. The Huffington Post broke the story.
“In the latest example of brands tweeting out things they shouldn’t, California-based fast food chain Umami Burger decided to send out the tweet on Monday. The tweet, which was soon deleted, featured a graphic that read, ‘Because nothing gets the taste of old lady out like Umami,’ alongside images of Drake and Madonna. It appears to be a response to last Sunday’s viral moment at the Coachella festival when the Queen of Pop kissed Drake during his performance of ‘Madonna,'” author Nick Visser wrote.
Madonna expanded on the topic of ageism in Rolling Stone a couple months back.
“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.”
So far, Tori Amos is the only female performer to stand up for Madonna. Perhaps Lady Gaga, who has been brutally judged in the past, will stand up for Madonna as well. Last December, Madonna indicated she had no problem with Lady Gaga, despite the war of words between fans. Even if Lady Gaga doesn’t speak out, let’s hope other female artists start to support Madonna so they don’t have to face the same brutal treatment in the future.
[Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]
