Madonna Defends Edited MLK and Nelson Mandela Photos

Madonna is standing up for herself in the latest social media controversy.

The star recently posted edited photos to her Facebook of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela, resembling the cover art of Madonna's latest album Rebel Heart. Many viewers saw the images of the iconic men bound in black string offensive, giving Madonna much backlash for it.

However, she says that she had not intended to offend anyone.

She said on Facebook, "This is neither a crime or an insult or racist." She was apparently trying to draw a parallel between the men and the title of her album, saying, "I'm saying they are Rebel Hearts too."

Madonna has since posted similarly edited pictures of John Lennon, Basquiat, and Princess Diana and asserted that anyone who defends freedom is a Rebel Heart.

Madonna is currently #1 in 36 countries around the world with the release of six songs from her forthcoming album Rebel Heart. In virtually every country the songs were released, they held six of the ten slots on the Top 10 iTunes chart. In seven of those countries, she had multiple No. 1's. The single Living for Love is currently No. 1 in 20 countries. The six songs - Living For Love, Devil Pray, Ghosttown, Unapologetic Bitch, Illuminati and B**ch I'm Madonna(featuring Nicki Minaj) - are available HERE.

The news of the surprise drop came when Madonna posted a link late last night on Instagram announcing the release of the six songs as, "an early Christmas gift" to those that preordered the album. Fans immediately went to iTunes and drove the songs to #1 around the globe. Instantaneously Rebel Heart exploded on social media with the album topping the Billboard Trending 140 Chart. On Facebook #Madonna was the No. 1 trending topic and continues to trend there. Additionally, #Madonna and #RebelHeart have been trending on Twitter in the US all day.

Rebel Heart will be released in March 2015 on Interscope Records. Producers include Madonna, Diplo (Living For Love, Bitch I'm Madonna, Unapologetic Bitch), Kanye West (Illuminati), Billboard (Ghosttown), DJ Dahi and Blood Diamonds (Devil Pray). The album was recorded in London, Los Angeles and New York.

Source: TMZ

To post a comment, you must register and login.