File this under “Formerly Relevant Ageing Star Desperately Wants To Be Controversial.” Madonna (remember her?) is apparently releasing a new album. It’s called Rebel Heart–a title, by the way, that makes me think of rhinestones and the Grand Old Opry, and that can’t be what she was going for. Anyway, to promote the album, Madonna has decided to post Photoshopped portraits of “fellow rebel hearts” Martin Luther King, Jr., Bob Marley, and Nelson Mandela in the style of her album cover to her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The Internet got a little huffy about it, wondering if perhaps she was being accidentally racist or deliberately controversial. Comparing yourself to Dr. King? Mandela? Goodness, me, next thing she’ll be comparing herself to Jesus. Oh, wait, she just did. Once she realized that people were upset, she quickly posted an explanation, saying she wasn’t trying to compare herself to these icons, just acknowledging their rebel hearts. “I hope one day to live up to 1 100th of what those people accomplished.” Thirty years ago this would be front page news the world over. Honestly, I’m as surprised that she knows how to use social media as much as the fact she’s still making music.
