Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

1992 Clip Of Madonna Calling Out How Older Women Are Shamed For Being Sexual Resurfaces

1992 Clip Of Madonna Calling Out How Older Women Are Shamed For Being Sexual Resurfaces
BBC

An interview featuring a 34-year-old Madonna calling out the ageism and misogyny women face has struck a nerve considering the comments she's faced as she's gotten older.

A clip of a conversation between Madonna and a BBC interviewer in 1992 has recently resurfaced, and her stance hasn't changed over the last three decades.

The 65-year-old Queen of Pop has been putting up with people commenting on her looks and how she has aged for her entire career, and the comments after the 2023 Grammys last February merely continued the trend.


People took issue with what she chose to wear to the awards show, with some complaining that someone her age shouldn't wear something intentionally sexy on stage.

She was there to introduce Kim Petras and Sam Smith before their historic performance but some, including insufferable talking head Piers Morgan, felt the need to comment on Madonna's appearance instead — sharing a photo of her taken from an unfavorable angle with the caption "I thought Halloween was in October?" on X (formerly Twitter).

Unlike Morgan, Madonna was focused on the history being made that night.

"I wanted to give the last award which was album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans woman performing at the Grammys – a history making moment!! And on top of that she won a Grammy!!"

She rightly pointed out that distorted photos don't flatter anyone:

"Many people chose to only talk about close-up photos of me taken with a long lens camera by a press photographer that would distort anyone’s face!!"

Then she called out the culture that makes it acceptable to criticize women in the public eye so harshly.

"Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny That permeates the world we live in.
A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her If she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous."

She won't be changing her stance against this attitude or bowing to the pressure any time soon, either.

"I have never apologized for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start. I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come."

Her answers to the 1992 interview questions about her sexuality and aging serve as more than sufficient proof that she has always railed against the idea that women should be demure and change themselves for the public gaze.

The interviewer asked Madonna if she would challenge the idea that women lose their sexuality or sex appeal as they age.

"Yes, I think that not only do we suffer from racism, and sexism, and things like that, but we also suffer from ageism and that is that once you reach a certain age, you're not allowed to be adventurous; you're not allowed to be sexual. And I think that's rather hideous."

She then called out her critics.

"A lot of people said 'oh, it's so pathetic,' or 'I hope she's not still doing that in 10 years,' — I mean, who cares? What if I am?"
"I mean, is there a rule? What, are you supposed to just die when you're 40?"
"And that's basically what everyone wants people to do and I think that's stupid. You're just supposed to kind of put yourself out to pasture?"

She finished:

"Life is long. People are living to be 100 years old so, you know, I don't get it."

Many agreed with Madonna's message.


Her attitude toward people saying that she was having sex with women was very pointed, and definitely not the usual attitude of the early 1990s. There's nothing wrong with being gay, so there's no need to vehemently deny any accusations.

She said:

"I’m very intrigued by bisexuality and homosexuality, that doesn’t mean that I necessarily experience it. I don’t think it’s relevant. People say: ‘Oh, she sleeps with women,’ I don’t bother to deny it because I don’t think it matters. Who cares?"
"I mean, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, so I’m not going to go around going: ‘Oh god, that’s not true, that’s not true!'"

Madonna hasn't wavered in her belief that women should be able to express their sexuality as they choose, no matter their age, since that interview in 1992.

When will our society let women just be?

More from Trending

bride and groom cutting wedding cake
Wedding Dreamz on Unsplash

People Who Smashed Wedding Cake In Their Spouse's Face Reveal How Their Relationship Is Going Now

According to The Knot wedding resource magazine and website, smashing cake into the face of a spouse after tying the knot is a tradition tied to medieval England. To celebrate the marriage, the bride would toss a piece of piece of cake over her shoulder for good luck.

This evolved into newlyweds feeding a piece of cake to one another, then taking frosting or a small bit of cake and rubbing it gently onto each other's faces—usually the cheek or tip of the nose.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of U.S. Army veteran who criticized Donald Trump
@btnewsroom/TikTok

U.S. Army Vet Goes Viral With Blistering Speech Ripping Trump For Deploying Troops To L.A.

A U.S. Army veteran went viral after she spoke out to encourage other current and former military members to publicly condemn President Donald Trump for using them as "pawns" to suit his own ends after he deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles amid ongoing protests against his administration's immigration raids.

Trump has activated over 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines, despite opposition from city and state leaders. He has painted a bleak picture of Los Angeles—claims that Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom say are wildly exaggerated.

Keep ReadingShow less
Barack and Michelle Obama
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Obamas Just Shared A Rare Family Photo With Their Adult Daughters To Celebrate Sasha's Birthday

Former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama warmed hearts when they shared the same photo to their respective social media accounts, showing them with their adult daughters, Sasha and Malia, to commemorate Sasha's 24th birthday.

Sasha Obama was born in June 2001, nearly eight years before the family moved into the White House at the start of her father's first term in January 2009. She and her older sister, Malia, now 26, spent their formative years in the presidential residence, growing up there throughout their father’s two terms, until the family departed in 2017.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Joe Biden
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Trump Dragged After Hilariously Flubbing Insult About Biden's Mental Acuity

The term malaphor means when two or more colloquial phrases or idioms get confused and combined to create something nonsensical. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), malaphors are a common symptom of frontotemporal dementia or other cognitive impairments.

So when a person seeks to accuse someone of being unintelligent, their use of malaphors is ironic and possibly very telling—narcissists will always accuse others of their own faults and failures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Christy Walton; Donald Trump
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

MAGA Now Calling For Walmart Boycott After Heiress Funds Ad Promoting Anti-Trump Protests

MAGA fans are boycotting Walmart after Christy Walton, one of the retail giant's heirs, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times promoting the “No Kings” protests planned against President Donald Trump's military parade.

Walton, who is worth an estimated $19.3 billion and ranks among the wealthiest women in the U.S., urged critics of Trump to "mobilize" against the parade—echoing a similar message she shared in a New York Times ad back in March.

Keep ReadingShow less