True to form, Madonna is using sarcasm and self-awareness to reclaim the narrative around her heavily criticized appearance at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
On Monday, the Queen of Pop alluded to the media firestorm that ensued after she appeared at the Feb. 5 ceremony while sharing a new photo of herself on Twitter.
“Look how cute i am now that swelling from surgery has gone down. Lol,” she wrote alongside the photo, which appears to have been taken amid preparations for her forthcoming Celebration Tour. She then concluded the tweet with a laughing emoji.
Madonna, a seven-time Grammy winner, briefly took the stage at the 2023 awards to introduce Sam Smith and Kim Petras. She was a fitting choice given that “Unholy,” Smith and Petras’ smash single, melds sexual and religious imagery in the same vein as her own 1989 classic, “Like a Prayer.”
“I’m here to give thanks to all the rebels out there, forging a new path and taking the heat for all of it,” she said of Smith, who is nonbinary, and Petras, a transgender woman.
Unfortunately, not everyone was listening. Instead, Madonna drew online scorn for her appearance, with many hurling out accusations of plastic surgery and other cosmetic interventions.
“Can’t wait for Madonna’s new film ‘Desperately Seeking Surgeon,’” one person wrote, nodding to the Material Girl’s seminal performance in 1985’s “Desperately Seeking Susan.”
Two days after the Grammys, Madonna responded to the backlash with a lengthy note on Instagram in which she reminded everyone ― for the upteenth time in her four-decade career ― that her stylistic choices were always intentional.
“Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in,” the 64-year-old wrote. “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.”
“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,” she continued. “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.”