At 64, Madonna is living her best life. The global superstar and patron saint of rock hard abs recently stole the show at the 2023 Grammy Awards, where she introduced devilish duo Sam Smith and Kim Petras, who later became the first trans woman in history to win a Grammy.
Instead of focusing on her rousing speech, however, which was all to do with radical self-acceptance and celebrating those who don’t conform, news outlets and the Twitterverse alike decided to hone in on her “unrecognizable” appearance, amidst thinly veiled accusations of extreme plastic surgery. And, true to form, Madonna is having none of it.
“Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in,” she wrote on Instagram. “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.”
She makes an important point: despite increasing calls for inclusivity and diversity, we still seem to have a problem with women over a certain age who choose to take care of their appearance. First we shame them for having wrinkles and then we shame them for doing something about it. Thankfully, however, we have women out there like Madonna to call this sexist, misogynist behavior out.
“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 continues. “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.”
In the words of Beyoncé: ‘You won’t break my soul.’” Drops mic.
