Madonna tried to honor late singer Aretha Franklin at Monday night’s VMAs but her attempt at a tribute went south — fast. The “Material Girl” singer…
Madonna tried to honor late singer Aretha Franklin at Monday night’s VMAs but her attempt at a tribute went south — fast.
The “Material Girl” singer took the stage with enthusiasm, saying, “[Aretha Franklin] changed the course of my life,” but veered off course and made the entire thing about herself. (RELATED: Aretha Franklin Dies At 76. Here’s What We Know)
Madonna waxed poetic about how she struggled to become a successful dancer as a young woman and rarely knew when her next meal would be.
“I left Detroit when I was 18, $35 in my pocket. My dream was to make it as a professional dancer. After years of struggling and being broke, I decided to go to auditions for musical theater,” she started.
“I had no training or dreams of ever becoming a singer, but I went for it. I got cut and rejected from every audition — not tall enough, not blend-in enough, not 12-octave-range enough, not pretty enough. Not enough. And then one day, a French disco sensation was looking for backup singers and dancers for his world tour. I thought, ‘Why not? The worst that can happen is I can go back to getting robbed, held at gunpoint and being mistaken for a prostitute in my third-floor walk-up that was also a crackhouse.’ That’s right, I’m a Rebel Heart.”
She went on for several more minutes before finally bringing the whole thing back to Aretha.
“None of this would’ve happened — could’ve happened — without our lady of soul,” Madonna explained. “She led me to where I am today and I know she influenced so many people in this house tonight, in this room tonight, and I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Long live the queen.”
People are upset about Madonna’s Aretha Franklin tribute at the VMA’s ‘cos it was basically all about her and not Aretha. Whatchu think? Here’s a snippet
Video credit @TheRaroLae pic.twitter.com/9loUPGTG24
— Kenzy Vinco (@KenzyVinco) August 21,2018
Needless to say, people on Twitter had something to say about it.
“If it wasn’t for Aretha, we wouldn’t have Madonna”- Madonna
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) August 21,2018
What a touching tribute to Aretha Franklin where Madonna talked about her goddam self for like 30 mins
— KFC (@KFCBarstool) August 21,2018
Madonna gave herself a tribute featuring Aretha.
— LoveYourself (@ScottieBeam) August 21,2018
Madonna probably just salty Aretha Franklin died on her birthday. #VMAs
— Travon Free (@Travon) August 21,2018
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