What with Madonna shocking the world with this whole adoption thing, its easy to forget that it wasn't so long ago that Madonna was shocking the world by singing a song on a cross in a bad pair of knickers.
That crucifix controversy hasn't gone away, though – Madonna gave one last run-through of her Confessions tour set for NBC not so long ago, so that the network could use it as part part of a Madonna prime-time special. However, there was the tiny point of the song Live To Tell, where Madonna hauled her elderly body up onto a giant crucifix and sang a song about how everyone should live to tell their friends that Madonna makes a wicked cool Jesus, or something. NBC has inevitably announced that it wigged out at the thought of broadcasting Madonna on a big cross, and that it won't be showing Madonna's crucifixion on the special any more.
Madonna can't help but be controversial in whatever she does, can she? Madonna chose a controversial religion then wrote a controversial song that pissed off the people in charge of it. Madonna controversially fell off a horse then got a bollocking for controversially using horses as fashion accessories. And most recently Madonna controversially adopted a boy from Malawi, which was controversial to every single human rights group on the planet. And we haven't even mentioned the controversial toilet seat incident yet.
But nothing in recent memory has been as controversial as Madonna's decision to actually crucify herself every night during her last world tour. For those of you who can't remember, Madonna got on a big shiny crucifix, waggled her genitals a bit and sang a sad song about African orphans (African orphans? Wait a minute...) Anyway, by doing this Madonna managed to offend Christians in England and America, get The Pope worked into a lather, almost get arrested in Germany and spark a load of protests in Moscow. When Madonna was in Wembley, her concert was filmed for a special for NBC who – in turn – copped a load of shit from Christian protesters who were worried that showing America images of a woman in a crap leotard pretending to be Jesus would literally send everyone to hell immediately. And, as Reuters reports, NBC relented and pulled the crucifixion scene:
After weeks of uncertainty, the network said it decided it would not show the opening portion of the "Live to Tell" performance in which she sings suspended from a giant mirrored cross while wearing a crown of thorns. Instead, cameras will cut away to other shots while Madonna is on the cross, then cut back to the singer when she steps down to finish the song. "You hear the song, but you're not seeing her on the cross," one network source told Reuters.
Erstwhile Madonna slave Liz Rosenberg, meanwhile, suggests that while Madonna agreed to the compromise, she's not especially happy about it:
"She wanted it in, and they wanted it out. You won't see Madonna on a crucifix. That element of the song is no longer in the show. How they came to that conclusion I really don't know."
We don't know how they could come to that conclusion either. How is little David Banda going to discover that his new mummy isn't just a tiny old lady but a tiny old lady with a Messiah complex and a wardrobe stuffed with horrific gymwear now?
Read more:
NBC won't show Madonna on the cross – Reuters
[story by Stuart Heritage]
Jeff says
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