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Madonna has received a lot of controversy lately about her performances and now about her speaking out about LGBT rights. About a week ago, Madonna angered Russian government officials and then two days later she spoke out about a Russian punk band in St. Petersburg. It truly doesn’t come as a shock that she won’t let government officials shut her up. After she showed her support the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted that she is a “slut”. Then Thursday night her show in St. Petersburg, she made a fiery speech for her support of gay rights.
Madonna said, “It’s a very strange time in the world, I’m traveling around the world, and I feel it in the air … I feel people are becoming more and more afraid of people who are different; people are becoming more and more intolerant,” she told the crowd. “It’s a very scary time, but we can make a difference. We can change this. We have the power. And we don’t have to do it with violence; we just have to do it with love.”
Lately, Russia has cracked down on LGBT protestors that have drawn criticism from human rights organizations. Amnesty International said, “ LGBT rights activists continued to face harassment and attacks. Attempted pride marches and pro-LGBT rights pickets in Moscow and St. Petersburg were banned and promptly dispersed by police.” Madonna didn’t explicitly talk about the Russian government, but she did draw parallels between Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggles of LGBT rights. Rights for African Americans did face violent opposition, similar to the current battle for LGBT rights. During her speech she talked to the crowd bringing momentum into the theater and giving people hope for the future.
Madonna finished her speech by attacking religious organizations that don’t want equal rights. She said, “”Jesus preached this, Mohammed preached this, Buddha preached this, Moses preached this. It’s in every holy book: love thy neighbor as thyself. You cannot use religion to treat other people badly,” she said, as the crowd cheered. “We all deserve love. Let’s all go out into the world and spread this message of love, and live our lives without fear.”
