The Queen of Pop and the Queen of Soul--sounds like a match made in heaven, right? Well....not exactly.
Madonna's planned tribute to Aretha Franklin, who passed away last week after her battle with pancreatic cancer, could not have gone more awry if she tried.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Madonna showed up dressed in traditional African garb and referred to herself as a "skinny-ass white girl" who "is going to come out here and sing a song by one of the soul singers that ever lived." The Grammy winner said that "none of this [gestures to herself] would've happened, could've happened without our lady of soul."
Madonna also accredits an a cappella cover of her singing "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" as responsible for her career taking off.
However, the self-centered and culturally appropriative "tribute" was not well received by...well...anyone.
Watch for yourself:
Madonna later on decided to address what she is now saying was mistakenly called a "tribute."
She said she was asked to present the video of the year award, and to "share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin."
"I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her!" Madonna wrote. "That would be impossible in 2 minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show. I could never do her justice in this context or environment."
But this 'apology' doesn't even begin to cover the depth of the problems with the entire moment.
Why does she not address the outfit at all, for one?
Plus, an "anecdote" connected to Aretha would have been a time the two of you crossed paths in your career...not a story about you and only you.
Madonna, it's time to do better.
H/T: The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Twitter
Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images
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