3. The Face of French Fascism?
In the prime of her career, Madonna was more interested in gender politics than politics politics. As war and right-wing politics became more pressing concerns in the years after 9/11, however, that began to change. Today, world leaders and political candidates are as apt to face her wrath as the Pope himself.
Her most provocative political statement this year has come at the expense of Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front Party. In a characteristically subtle video montage during Madge's current show, Le Pen's image briefly appears alongside some of Madonna's other least favorite people (Sarah Palin, Pope Benedict) with a big, fat swastika superimposed on her face. As if that were unclear, her visage then dissolves into Hitler's.
Predictably, the ultra-nationalist Le Pen didn't take kindly to this treatment, threatening to sue the pop star for "public insult." Unsurprisingly, Madonna has shown little concern over the threat, and with good reason. Can't say we're super-familiar with France's free speech laws, but it's no stretch to predict that any lawsuit over the political message is headed nowhere fast.
Unfair though the comparison to Hitler may be, it most certainly provided both ladies for a brief moment with the global attention they clearly crave.
2. Rainbows in Russia
Gay rights are a dicey proposition in Russia. While homosexuality isn't technically illegal there (high-five!), it's fair to say that anti-gay attitudes in many government quarters remain somewhere between "quite strong" and "excruciatingly virulent."
Case in point: A law passed in St. Petersburg earlier this year making it illegal to promote homosexuality to minors. We assume this means that the gays were forced to pull their cartoon advertisements featuring Joe Camel suavely boofing dromedaries of the same gender.
While most visiting artists are content to get the hell out of Russia without jabbing a thumb in Putin's eye, nothing sticks in Madonna's craw like institutionalized anti-gay discrimination. She had already pissed off the Russian regime by publicly supporting the jailed anti-Putin protesters in Pussy Riot, and there was little chance she'd leave St. Petersburg without addressing the struggle for gay rights.
During her concert there on August 9, Madonna told fans that "the gay community and gay people here and all around the world have the same rights to be treated with dignity, with respect, with tolerance, with compassion, with love." Russian anti-gay groups disagreed, suing the singer for more than $10 million for "moral damage suffered by St. Petersburg residents" due to her little speech. Good luck collecting, Boris.
