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MarXus
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Hey fans, so Madonna has had many controversies throughout her career.  As the years go by, looking back (especially among some of the younger generation), some might think "why the big deal"?   Still, those of us who lived those moments, they were huge moments.  So I'm curious to ask what do you think is Madonna's most biggest controversy?  Which ones do you feel that has helped or hurt her career?  Or maybe you rather just share one of your most favorite controversies. 

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One of my favorite controversies and what I thought was pretty much the height of her controversies is the LAP/Pepsi deal.  I remember how huge this got.  I remember sitting by the television to video tape the Pepsi commercial during the Cosby Show.  I still have the recording on a VHS stored away.  The next day; the music video was to air, and that is when the uproar began.  It was a Friday and Pepsi reacted quickly because the commercial was pulled before a second airing happened.  

In January 1989, while the music video was still being filmed, Pepsi-Cola announced that they had signed Madonna for US$5 million deal to feature the singer and "Like a Prayer" for the company's television commercial. The deal also included Pepsi sponsoring Madonna's next world tour.

It seems to me, Madonna won big time here since it only helped her album and single soar up the charts.   

 

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Good question. My first thought for being the biggest is the video for LAP. At the time, I think everyone thought it would crash her career but it only catapulted it.  

If I were to pick a controversy that's truly hurt her(or somewhat), it's the ticket game and time issue of her current show.  It's given her a bad rap but she has a way of always turning things around. So we'll see?

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16 minutes ago, Voguerista said:

Good question. My first thought for being the biggest is the video for LAP. At the time, I think everyone thought it would crash her career but it only catapulted it.  

If I were to pick a controversy that's truly hurt her(or somewhat), it's the ticket game and time issue of her current show.  It's given her a bad rap but she has a way of always turning things around. So we'll see?

Thanks for extending your thoughts with the LAP/Pepsi deal.

I never thought about the ticket/time issues as a huge controversy.  Yes, it seemed a bigger issue this tour, but I think in the long run it will be forgotten.  Though, I have to agree she probably needs a reality check regarding this issue. Like you said, she has a way of "turning things around".  Her fan base is usually pretty forgiving.  And the truth of the matter is; the moment she puts on a Farewell tour or Greatest Hits Tour, it will most likely be highly successful for her.  I really do think her next tour should be more of a Greatist Hits Tour, hinting that it might be her last time out, but with no intention of it being her last time out.  People seem to buy into that. It's worked for so many artists in the past.  Just look at Cher.  She did her farewell tour a decade or so ago. Yet, she's still touring. 

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Of course many controversies come to my mind:
Pepsi, LAP video, Justify my love video, Sex have already been mentioned.

I remember so well the Vatican ban which is also featured in Truth or Dare. Basta per favore!

I would recall the controversy of M kissing on the lips the boy from Open your heart video (Felix Howard) and Chris Finch during the WTG Tour:

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Seems so innocent now, but it looked so daring at the time!

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The Wembley Blonde Ambition show was my favourite, after Radio One broadcast her live and stupidly requesting that she tone down her language for them. The boss of the station was in his car and stunned at her rant and record breaking f word monologue and could do nothing about it.

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I absolutely agree, one of her best appearances. But let me post again the infamous Vatican speech.

Incredible to think that Italian tv showed the full speech on the news for a lenght of 3 minutes!!!

For the Italians the person translating in Italian sounds so funny in his dialect:

Silenzio un po' de spazio vole! Se parlate se ne va!

 

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I recall all the controversy when she was appearing in Toronto, and they threatened to arrest her if she performed Like Virgin (simulating masturbation).  She told her brother and her manager (Freddy DeMann) that she was going to change her show. She stuck to her word, and while they didn't arrest her, she and her crew quickly left Toronto after the show:

 

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After much thinking I'd pick the LAP video controversy, just because religion (often inextricably linked to sex) is important for most people, but not for me. And when it comes to sex, I can't find anything controversial  about sexuality. So... I never thought of her as "controversial", but as someone who defied the status quo in a fun way. Unfortunately she's lost that sense of fun over the years. She's become preachy and to a certain extent, boring. 

Edited by Gonzalo (see edit history)
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13 hours ago, Fontainebleau said:

For me it's the release of the Justify My Love video and the controversy it caused. MTV banned the video and Madonna was interviewed by Nightline regarding the ban, which I think is one of her very best interviews...

I agree.

When Justify my Love came out that's when everyone's parents were like no more Madonna lol

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15 hours ago, Enrico said:

Of course many controversies come to my mind:
Pepsi, LAP video, Justify my love video, Sex have already been mentioned.

I remember so well the Vatican ban which is also featured in Truth or Dare. Basta per favore!

I would recall the controversy of M kissing on the lips the boy from Open your heart video (Felix Howard) and Chris Finch during the WTG Tour:

16.jpg?w=676

26.jpg

Seems so innocent now, but it looked so daring at the time!

She could never get away with that today at all in this #metoo era. 

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I remember the LAP/Pepsi controversy and it was clear it benefited her career immensely at the time. 

The biggest I have to say was the release of SEX. Culturally this was released during the feminist sex wars and both the conservatives and sex negative feminists just did not know how to handle the situation. It was clear everyone was confronted and confabulated that a female personality would release such a book. 

Yet even though it brought M a lot of pain and reputational damage. The book is culturally a watershed moment in western pop culture and should be considered a work of art in its own right. Pop music hasn't been the same since, Miley Cyrus would never have gotten away with her antics if M didn't break ground with releasing SEX and Erotica. 

 

 

 

 

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20 hours ago, MarXus said:

Hey fans, so Madonna has had many controversies throughout her career.  As the years go by, looking back (especially among some of the younger generation), some might think "why the big deal"?   Still, those of us who lived those moments, they were huge moments.  So I'm curious to ask what do you think is Madonna's most biggest controversy?  Which ones do you feel that has helped or hurt her career?  Or maybe you rather just share one of your most favorite controversies. 

I personally think Sex and Erotica did the most damage to her career at the time, since it really did trigger the media to harass and scrutinise her for the next twenty seven years. It could also be argued that American Life may have affected the underwhelming performance of Confessions in the US.

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I would say that the SEX book controversy has been the most impactful on M's career. Now, it seems that people still find ways to use it against her, whether it's in jokes or whatever else. I don't think the general public ever really got over her releasing the SEX book, which still annoys me.

The Justify My Love video controversy is also another one that is really important for me. The way she handled herself during all of the controversy was so commendable. She was eloquent and intelligent, which was the last thing they wanted her to be, and I love her for it!

I think the controversy that surrounded Like A Virgin at the time also helped M reach her status in the industry. It was really groundbreaking for a woman, especially a young woman to sing what she sang and to perform the way she did in front of a conservative America.

 

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9 hours ago, Ashley said:

I remember the LAP/Pepsi controversy and it was clear it benefited her career immensely at the time. 

The biggest I was have to say was the release of SEX. Culturally this was released during the feminist sex wars and both the conservatives and sex negative feminists just did not know how to handle the situation. It was clear everyone was confronted and confabulated that a female personality would even dare release such a book. 

Yet even though it brought M a lot of pain and reputational damage. The book is a culturally watershed moment in western pop culture and should be considered a work of art in its own right. Pop music hasn't been the same since, Miley Cyrus would never have gotten away with her antics if M didn't break ground with releasing SEX and Erotica. 

 

 

 

 

'since, Miley Cyrus would never have gotten away with her antics if M didn't break ground with releasing SEX and Erotica.'

was this good for popular culture? i don't think so

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On 11/24/2019 at 12:23 PM, Fontainebleau said:

For me it's the release of the Justify My Love video and the controversy it caused. MTV banned the video and Madonna was interviewed by Nightline regarding the ban, which I think is one of her very best interviews...

 

I love the looks she gives when he talks about feminist reactions to her work. I am old enough to remember feminism on television before Madonna. Even at my young age I couldn't understand why feminism meant being "more like a man" to be taken seriously. Wasn't that buying into that whole notion that what men did was more important? Before Madonna I thought this and even though I agreed with what I thought "feminism" was getting at I didn't understand everything they promoted. They seemed to be celebrating anything considered masculine and looking down on anything considered feminine. When Madonna came along I was around 14 years old and I remember her being a breath of fresh air. I do not blame feminists for not getting it but they didn't. They seemed to be agreeing with thier oppressors. When you agree with your opressors and want to be more like them you are not empowered; they are still controlling you.

Everyone uses masculine and feminine traits and I think the healthiest minds balance both. Speaking for the United States I think feminine traits have been beaten down to the point where we are now inundated with a toxic masculinity. Even Madonna I think has leaned masculine too much in response to treatment growing up and by the public to the point were she has lost her balance. This is why I kinda understand the feminists of the past who were simply trying to survive in an unfair unthinking society. It is very hard to be yourself when you are criticised endlessly by so many for doing just that. 

During Ray of Light artistically I think she was greatly exploring mental feminine traits with a touch of masculine in her art with the song Ray of Light being a pure balance of masculine and feminine. Most of the other songs lean heavily feminine mentally. Like I said befor all humans use both masculine and feminine traits. A woman can be very "masculine" and a man can be very "feminine." I think a balance is healthiest. 

Madonna was also good at revealing what was innocent and if people thought otherwise than they need to check thier own thoughts. She is also good at revealing what is just. I often had absolutely no idea what the latest "controversy" was about.  

The only controversy was my own personal one with her when she "seemed" to be leaning towards agreeing with her critics in the late 90's and early 00's.  Even though disappointing I think it was motherhood and the immediate protection of her children that became more important than being true to your art. So it is not fair for me to judge that. 

The difference today with whatever controversy going on today is that I think a lot of her fans are agreeing with her opressors and I think that has hurt her quite a bit where she may be lashing out at her fans at times. I have heard bitterness in her music...especially in MDNA. I think she was hurt by her husband whom she "changed" for and by her fans who want to abandon her because of her age. This new album is getting back to more of what she cares about. 

MDNA is a good title for that particular album because it was "hurt" and "pain" that I think was the driving force that inspired Madonna to become "Madonna" in the beginning. Like the feminists in the 80's and 90's I think a lot of her fans agreeing with her opressors are just not "getting it." Back in the earlier days her fans did "get" her art and the only controversy was from the people that didn't. 

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Personally I am not sure that controversy hurt her... well apart from in the US and some very religious countries... what hurt the sale of her music was really time and new generations... times pass, new generations get new idols... no-one stays on top forever... Madonna has been around for a very long time... most other artists have not had that long and strong a career as her... I'm sure that some of the controversies have rather help her create interest instead of hurting her.

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