Madonna

[angelaudie]

I've always heard that Madonna had money when she first arrived. It was very little money but some. In NYC you can become broke rather fast. I don't think her rough times in NYC are a complete fabrication.

Honestly, I'm not seeing the big shocking scandalous stories her brother promised. Much of what in his book has either been rumored previously or just painfully obvious. Unless his book reveals that Madonna killed someone when she was 12 or was born a boy I don't really see anything about his book that is really that juicy.

[Deleted]

RE: Lourdes. I think Madonna will be a huge hypocrite. From what I can gather, she's VERY strict with her kids. There's no way she'll sit back and vicariously enjoy Lourdes acting out and "pushing buttons." I think deep down Madonna has internalized alot of her strict Catholic upbringing. Not the theology. But the idea of a dominant controlling figure that knows best. She's probably more like her father as a parent than she'd like to admit.

[kanding]

Jul 13, 2008 17:17:59 GMT -4 @tversky said:

RE: Lourdes. I think Madonna will be a huge hypocrite. From what I can gather, she's VERY strict with her kids. There's no way she'll sit back and vicariously enjoy Lourdes acting out and "pushing buttons." I think deep down Madonna has internalized alot of her strict Catholic upbringing. Not the theology. But the idea of a dominant controlling figure that knows best. She's probably more like her father as a parent than she'd like to admit.

Big ol' word to this. One thing that stuck in my head was during the making "Ray of Light" when Lourdes was still a toddler: Madonna was giving an interview and mentioned that Lourdes needed a sibling because she (Lourdes) was demanding too much attention and she "needed a little competition". I thought that it revealed something about Madonna's own need for attention and that she'd always had to fight with her brothers and sisters to get her father's. First, damn woman! The kid's a toddler! Of course she needs/demands a lot of attention. Second, I got the feeling that Madonna was a little jealous that her own daughter had it so easy in that sense although Madonna herself was responsible for the situation.

It was all about control. And Madonna is in charge and knows best, no question. Exactly the way she described her father as being.

[kostgard]

None of those excerpts from the book really surprise me, except the fact that her brother does't seem to know his sister all that well.

Let's see - for her wedding, she flies him out business class, gives him a polyester tux and puts him in a small hotel room and he's surprised by this? I've never met the lady and I could tell you that she's cheap. One word I have never heard associated with Madonna is "generous."

And why did HRH Gwynnie have a nice big suite at that same wedding? Because she's a movie star, dear. You may be Madge's brother, but you're not a celebrity who boosts her image. She ain't gonna spend any money on something or someone that doesn't benefit her or her image.

I'm not excusing Madge in this, but it sounds to me that Christopher hung on for so long despite the disrespect and poor pay because because he loved sharing in her glamorous life and now he's pissy because it's gone. If he really hated the way she treated him like a servant and the way she tried to short-change him for 20 years, he could have easily said, "Look, you're my sister and I love you, but I can't work for you anymore. I hope we can continue to have a relationship, but I can't be on your payroll anymore."

But he didn't because he loved the lifestyle and getting to hang out with his sister's famous friends.

[Deleted]

Jul 11, 2008 21:16:54 GMT -4 @baff said:

I've always thought that one thing commendable about Madonna is she doesn't slag of other celebrities, particularly those other female pop stars she's in direct rivalry. You can find on youtube Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson and Courtney Love dissing her, and her response has actually been the high ground. She doesn't dish it back.

She's actually the one who started the namecalling with Mariah Carey. Way back in 1995, she gave an interview weighing in on how generic and safe and unoriginal Mariah Carey's music was, and said "if I were Mariah Carey, I'd kill myself." Mariah Carey responded by saying she hadn't paid attention to Madonna since junior high "when she used to be popular." They've been catfighting ever since. But she did go there first. I always thought it was tacky, since she was a much more established star and had no need to take potshots at a newer artist. But hey, if Mariah had started out in the kind of outfits she wears now maybe Madonna could have found her interesting and pulled a Britney with her and they'd be BFF now. Ah, missed opportunities.

[thingee]

Jul 13, 2008 20:39:21 GMT -4 @marchingpenguin said:

Jul 11, 2008 21:16:54 GMT -4 @baff said:

I've always thought that one thing commendable about Madonna is she doesn't slag of other celebrities, particularly those other female pop stars she's in direct rivalry. You can find on youtube Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson and Courtney Love dissing her, and her response has actually been the high ground. She doesn't dish it back.

She's actually the one who started the namecalling with Mariah Carey. Way back in 1995, she gave an interview weighing in on how generic and safe and unoriginal Mariah Carey's music was, and said "if I were Mariah Carey, I'd kill myself." Mariah Carey responded by saying she hadn't paid attention to Madonna since junior high "when she used to be popular." They've been catfighting ever since. But she did go there first. I always thought it was tacky, since she was a much more established star and had no need to take potshots at a newer artist. But hey, if Mariah had started out in the kind of outfits she wears now maybe Madonna could have found her interesting and pulled a Britney with her and they'd be BFF now. Ah, missed opportunities.

I also recall an interview a few years back where she made a really snide remark about Céline Dion. She was talking about her dad's musical taste and said something like "Ugh, he listens to Céline Dion, so what does he know?" Yeah, I tend to agree with her, but it was extremely rude and immature to say such a thing about her peer in the press.

[margojata]

She's always been rude and snotty - I could never stand her on Letterman because she never grew up. Not that long ago she said to him, "You really crack yourself up" - and did an eye roll. She was in her late 40's, and still acting like a high schooler.

The brother just sounds like sour grapes. It's a story told in many a family - someone marries someone, family members don't like them, etc. It sounds like Madonna wanted the fantasy world of high class English wife. Christopher needs to get over it already. We poor common people without celebrities in the family deal with it all the time - and don't make a profit out of telling the stories.

And this ...

Back outside, a pretty girl rides by on a horse. She introduces herself as Stella. The penny drops. Stella McCartney - Madonna's maid of honour. As far as I know, she and Madonna have only just met, yet Madonna has chosen her - not her close friends Ingrid Casares or Gwyneth Paltrow - to be her maid of honour. Stella designs and makes a free dress - worth £15,000 - especially for Madonna.

Stella explains the drill. Every morning the men will go shooting and the women will have a themed luncheon. Shooting is out of the question for me.

Die-hard veggie Stella is talking about the men going shooting? I can't believe she would have hooked up with a hunter.

[Deleted]

Ugh. She makes me ill. I'm not surprised she's made nasty remarks about Celine & Mariah. I'm not a fan of their music, but they have one thing that Madonna doesn't - vocal chops.

As for her brother, I feel kind of bad for him if that's the way she's treated him over the years. I couldn't imagine treating any of my siblings or family that way. She sucks. And she deserves to be outed for the fake social climber that she is if she's willing to hurt family in order to climb the social ladder. I don't get the hype about her or her music. Sure, she's lasted longer than most, but her voice sucks and she has no real talent to speak of. I'll give her props for being a hard worker but let's face it, she got her breaks in the business by selling her image and sex, not because she has one shred of musical talent. She seems like such a desperate, nasty person.

[topwesselton]

On Best Week Ever 2 weeks ago they said the best thing about the Arod scandal will be hearing her go from her hoighty toity English accident to a fake Domincan "hey papi" one. I concur.

[soul]

I'm so glad her brother is getting some sort of revenge and hopefully a windfall of cash. I have heard reports of how poorly she treated her maids.

One time, she asked her maid to make a call for for some reason or another. Unfortunately, that call happen to be a long distance call, and Vadge took the charge out of the woman's check.

Not cute.

Plus, the maid talked about the ridiculous interviewing process and how Madonna was paying way less than the usual salary. The maid figured she could at least say she worked for Madonna.

With that said, I can totally believe Christopher. It seems Madonna loves to get top dollar for herself, but she refuses to give a decent wage to those who work the hardest.