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Scathing article in the UK press


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Belfast Telegraph

Jane Graham: Why Material Girl Madonna is looking frayed

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Seeing Madonna embarrass her children by dragging yet another star-blinded young stud onto the dancefloor this week, it struck me that the 52-year-old Ms Ciccone has now completed what will probably be her final transformation from the Queen of Pop to a sad, sorry, salutary tale.

Does Madonna really imagine, as she slaps on a fake smile and pours her punished body into another leather basque, that the world is gazing on in envy and admiration?

Probably, a lifetime of being surrounded by toadying yes-men looking to bask in the glow of your fame and wealth can do that to a person. But to most of us, she simply seems to grow more delusional with each cruel passing year.

Of course its the bizarre coping mechanisms celebrities like Madonna employ to combat the deterioration of collagen which have created the cultural consensus that time is cruel to women. Her high profile struggle against getting older cryogenics are surely only a shot of courage away suggests that successful females in the public eye have no choice but battle against the inevitable until the bitter end, looking less heroic and more pitiful with each new photo shoot.

But this week I went to see Lisa Cholodenkos new film, The Kids Are All Right, and was presented with a 52-year-old with a different approach to middle-aged womanhood.

Annette Bening aka Mrs Warren Beatty is also 52, and looks it. Her jowls sag a little, her neck has a hint of turkey to it, but shes not only far sexier than Madonna, shes also one of the most dignified and high-achieving players in Hollywood. And she seems gasp! happy too.

If half of whats written is true, then Madonna is addicted to testing out any new technology which claims youth-injecting properties.

I dont think theres anything wrong with trying a bit of Botox to cheer yourself up, but the results of Madonnas obsessive experimenting are not attractive. Its not just that she appears, alternatively, puffy, swollen, gaunt or stretched; theres also a haunted look of fatigue and desperation in her eyes.

Bening on the other hand looks rested, contented, soft and maternal. Her face is full of personality and warmth and exudes calm confidence.

Madonnas hunt for youth has of course become literal; since her divorce from Guy Ritchie she has paraded a series of men barely out of adolescence alongside her.

She must believe that her lithe baby-boyfriends make her the envy of other women, but, really, they just make her look like an insecure embarrassing mum who never gets to have an interesting conversation.

How ironic that Bening is married to Beatty, the old bed-hopper Madonna famously failed to tame but who gave it all up the moment he met the formidable Bening, with whom he settled down and had four children.

Bening has proved that it is possible even in Hollywood the most looks and career-obsessed neighbourhood on the planet to get off the ladder to have children, allow yourself to be almost forgotten by your peers, and return to make some of the best work of your life in your early fifties.

Madonna, the most fiercely competitive pop star of the last three decades, hasnt made a good record for five years, though she pedals furiously to keep her profile skyscrapingly high.

There is so much she could learn from the intelligent, benevolent, self-contained Mrs Beatty but the truth is, she probably cant bear to look at her.

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It's articles like this that remind me of why I love Madonna so much in the first place. People NEVER HAVE BEEN and NEVER WILL be able to take it.

Can't wait to see her newly stuffed cheeks, hopefully on the arm of an 18 year old fresh faced piece of meat and an "accidental" shot of her clit ring during the promo for the next album.

Fuck prudes. ROCK THE FUCK ON MADONNA!

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It's articles like this that remind me of why I love Madonna so much in the first place. People NEVER HAVE BEEN and NEVER WILL be able to take it.

Can't wait to see her newly stuffed cheeks, hopefully on the arm of an 18 year old fresh faced piece of meat and an "accidental" shot of her clit ring during the promo for the next album.

Fuck prudes. ROCK THE FUCK ON MADONNA!

I was wondering who the first one to go THEYRE JUST JEALOUS OF HER BULGING MAN ARMS AND PLASTIC FACE would be.

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I was wondering who the first one to go THEYRE JUST JEALOUS OF HER BULGING MAN ARMS AND PLASTIC FACE would be.

I'd actually say she's more jealous of Madonna's VITALITY than her actual physical looks. Judging by the tone of this article, I'd say this person has probably never been too crazy about Madonna. Probably because she was "vulgar" and not "lady like" in the 80's and 90's NOW it's because she doesn't know how to grow old "gracefully" aka the way SHE thinks a person should age. I'm sure whoever wrote this couldn't pull a 23 year old stud if her life depended on it (not saying she'd want to either) BUT the fact that Madonna CAN rather effortlessly is probably a bit irritating to some. Just because you may agree with the gist of what this woman is saying, doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to read between the lines of this article. It's driven by hatefulness....long stemming hatefulness. She could've wrote this same article 20 years ago but using another scapegoat...the age thing is just convenient.

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I agree with you that its very harshly worded almost to the point that it does seem that she has a grudge against her and doesn't give Madonna the benefit of the doubt and also doesn't recognize the great artist Madonna is. But Madonna has opened herself to these kinds of attacks and she makes some valid points. I just hate that this thread will become another 10 pages of the same three people going ZOMG SHES SO BITTER AND WRINKLY AND JEALOUS THAT SHE DOESNT HAVE A TEENAGE BOYFRIEND like anyone sane would actually WANT a wrinkle-less face and an 18 year old boyfriend at 50.

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I agree with you that its very harshly worded almost to the point that it does seem that she has a grudge against her and doesn't give Madonna the benefit of the doubt and also doesn't recognize the great artist Madonna is. But Madonna has opened herself to these kinds of attacks and she makes some valid points. I just hate that this thread will become another 10 pages of the same three people going ZOMG SHES SO BITTER AND WRINKLY AND JEALOUS THAT SHE DOESNT HAVE A TEENAGE BOYFRIEND like anyone sane would actually WANT a wrinkle-less face and an 18 year old boyfriend at 50.

In fairness, most of the attacks Madonna has gotten over the years SHE has opened herself up to. How "normal" and "sane" did she seem to most 20-25 years ago with her seemingly incessant need to show herself? It's easy to look back at Madonna's golden years with rose tinted glasses but reading articles from back in the day and just off of my own memory, I can assure you, people thought she was just as off her rocker back then as they do now (and all excuses essentially boil down to the same thing then and now). When I say "they can't take it" I don't necessarily mean her smooth, wrinkle free face and 23 year old boy toys. I'm talking about her unending well of energy, motivation and obvious (most of the time) LOVE for her work some 30 years into her career. Some people have NEVER liked that Madonna does what SHE wants on HER terms, whether it's "normal" or not.

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How ironic that Bening is married to Beatty, the old bed-hopper Madonna famously failed to tame but who gave it all up the moment he met the formidable Bening, with whom he settled down and had four children.

:crazy:

The hag who wrote this is either delusional or just doesn't know that Betty proposed to Madonna, pressing her to marry him and it was Betty who went through her garbage during nighttime; looking after evidence of M cheating on him.

In fact, after all the women that Betty had in his life, M was the one who he first proposed to and with whom he was ready to settle down with. After HE failed to tame her and M turned him down he went on and married the next best thing; second best.

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Jane Graham

Jane-Graham_140202t.jpg

She's cute. I suppose that Madonna can give her a run for her money in just about every aspect of life AND she's about 20-25 years older than this Jane bitch is a little irritating to Mizz. Graham if you're nasty.

YAWN...it's either the really old ones who are bitter than Madonna hasn't aged into something resembling a hag like them or the really young ones who think older women should turn into a "Golden Girl" at 50 that raise these kinds of issues.

It all goes back to people feeling the need to place people in boxes and if they don't fit inside their "designated box" they are a freak that needs a..."ray of light" :D to bring them to their senses. This is an issue Madonna has dealt with her entire career....maybe her entire life.

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Isn't this article from an Irish paper?

My understanding is that Ireland is one of the most anti-Madonna countries in Europe, particularly when one compares her chart success there to that in most other European nations.

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In fairness, most of the attacks Madonna has gotten over the years SHE has opened herself up to. How "normal" and "sane" did she seem to most 20-25 years ago with her seemingly incessant need to show herself? It's easy to look back at Madonna's golden years with rose tinted glasses but reading articles from back in the day and just off of my own memory, I can assure you, people thought she was just as off her rocker back then as they do now (and all excuses essentially boil down to the same thing then and now). When I say "they can't take it" I don't necessarily mean her smooth, wrinkle free face and 23 year old boy toys. I'm talking about her unending well of energy, motivation and obvious (most of the time) LOVE for her work some 30 years into her career. Some people have NEVER liked that Madonna does what SHE wants on HER terms, whether it's "normal" or not.

Maybe I do have rose tinted glasses but it seems that all her stunts and attention seeking behavior back in the day was at least in some way related to her work. And she truly WAS a rebel back then while now she just conforms to the AGELESS BEAUTY Hollywood cliche that has claimed other celebrities like Nicole Kidman. I don't see whats rebellious about that.

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Maybe I do have rose tinted glasses but it seems that all her stunts and attention seeking behavior back in the day was at least in some way related to her work. And she truly WAS a rebel back then while now she just conforms to the AGELESS BEAUTY Hollywood cliche that has claimed other celebrities like Nicole Kidman. I don't see whats rebellious about that.

Put aside the looks and boyfriends for a minute. Just Madonna's seemingly unending ZEST for life has always been too much for some. She still works as if she's new to the scene and trying to get her name out there. She's never really stopped and 9 times out of 10 she's EXTREMELY successful in EVERYTHING she does. She's at an age now where no matter whether she were fully clothed from head to toe making "serious" pop songs, some people STILL feel like she should just bow out because she's "at that age". Put it like this....the fact that she still wants to "play the pop star game" (no matter what clothes or face she chooses to wear) in her 50's is rebellious. I think the fact that she's an unconventional thinker will always make her a rebel at heart. Look at all these artists who release some of their best material in their 50's and 60's yet only their core fanbases really know about it. In some ways I think ageism is more rampant than sexism or racism.

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Jane Graham

Jane-Graham_140202t.jpg

Ugh. No surprise. I've seen several of these thirtysomething journalist bitches trashing successful, older women. Madonna always goes out to support other female artists such as Britney, Alanis Morrissette but bitches like this miss the point and just act like every other wannabee/hater who jumps on M's coatails to get recognition one way or another.

I could agree if Madonna was single with no children and trailing after the latest hot thing but she's had two marriages got two lovely children and adopted another couple.

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I get what you're saying and her energy and ambition is enviable for even people in their twenties. I just don't think that's what this writer is getting at.

Unfortunately, nobody would be so blunt and honest about it (as that would make THEM look bad) but reading between the lines it SEEMS as though that is the root of this writers hatefulness: Madonna's not slowing down, she's not acting or trying to look "her age" like Annette Bening and that's not how someone should behave according to this persons ethics. At least that's how I interpret it.

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Isn't this article from an Irish paper?

My understanding is that Ireland is one of the most anti-Madonna countries in Europe, particularly when one compares her chart success there to that in most other European nations.

It's Northern Ireland which is part of the UK and contributes to the UK charts data.

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I get what you're saying and her energy and ambition is enviable for even people in their twenties. I just don't think that's what this writer is getting at.

In a way it is though. The writer talks about how great it was that Annette Benning took time off from her career to have children and stopped acting for awhile.

I'm always shocked by things that are written in the UK press, not just about Madonna but about celebrities in general. A lot of the articles seem much harsher and more judgmental than stuff here in our press. Or maybe I don't get the British sense of humor.

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Jane Graham: Why Material Girl Madonna is looking frayed

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Seeing Madonna embarrass her children by dragging yet another star-blinded young stud onto the dancefloor this week, it struck me that the 52-year-old Ms Ciccone has now completed what will probably be her final transformation — from the Queen of Pop to a sad, sorry, salutary tale.

Does Madonna really imagine, as she slaps on a fake smile and pours her punished body into another leather basque, that the world is gazing on in envy and admiration?

Probably, a lifetime of being surrounded by toadying yes-men looking to bask in the glow of your fame and wealth can do that to a person. But to most of us, she simply seems to grow more delusional with each cruel passing year.

Of course it’s the bizarre coping mechanisms celebrities like Madonna employ to combat the deterioration of collagen which have created the cultural consensus that time is ‘cruel’ to women. Her high profile struggle against getting older — cryogenics are surely only a shot of courage away — suggests that successful females in the public eye have no choice but battle against the inevitable until the bitter end, looking less heroic and more pitiful with each new photo shoot.

But this week I went to see Lisa Cholodenko’s new film, The Kids Are All Right, and was presented with a 52-year-old with a different approach to middle-aged womanhood.

Annette Bening — aka Mrs Warren Beatty — is also 52, and looks it. Her jowls sag a little, her neck has a hint of turkey to it, but she’s not only far sexier than Madonna, she’s also one of the most dignified and high-achieving players in Hollywood. And she seems — gasp! — happy too.

If half of what’s written is true, then Madonna is addicted to testing out any new technology which claims youth-injecting properties.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with trying a bit of Botox to cheer yourself up, but the results of Madonna’s obsessive experimenting are not attractive. It’s not just that she appears, alternatively, puffy, swollen, gaunt or stretched; there’s also a haunted look of fatigue and desperation in her eyes.

Bening on the other hand looks rested, contented, soft and maternal. Her face is full of personality and warmth and exudes calm confidence.

Madonna’s hunt for youth has of course become literal; since her divorce from Guy Ritchie she has paraded a series of men barely out of adolescence alongside her.

She must believe that her lithe baby-boyfriends make her the envy of other women, but, really, they just make her look like an insecure embarrassing mum who never gets to have an interesting conversation.

How ironic that Bening is married to Beatty, the old bed-hopper Madonna famously failed to tame but who gave it all up the moment he met the formidable Bening, with whom he settled down and had four children.

Bening has proved that it is possible even in Hollywood — the most looks and career-obsessed neighbourhood on the planet — to get off the ladder to have children, allow yourself to be almost forgotten by your peers, and return to make some of the best work of your life in your early fifties.

Madonna, the most fiercely competitive pop star of the last three decades, hasn’t made a good record for five years, though she pedals furiously to keep her profile skyscrapingly high.

There is so much she could learn from the intelligent, benevolent, self-contained Mrs Beatty — but the truth is, she probably can’t bear to look at her.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/jane-graham/jane-graham-why-material-girl-madonna-is-looking-frayed-15002529.html

FIRST OF ALL - does anyone take ANYTHING in the "UK PRESS" seriously...?

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Annette Bening — aka Mrs Warren Beatty — is also 52, and looks it. Her jowls sag a little, her neck has a hint of turkey to it, but she’s not only far sexier than Madonna, she’s also one of the most dignified and high-achieving players in Hollywood. And she seems — gasp! — happy too.

If half of what’s written is true, then Madonna is addicted to testing out any new technology which claims youth-injecting properties.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with trying a bit of Botox to cheer yourself up, but the results of Madonna’s obsessive experimenting are not attractive. It’s not just that she appears, alternatively, puffy, swollen, gaunt or stretched; there’s also a haunted look of fatigue and desperation in her eyes.

Bening on the other hand looks rested, contented, soft and maternal. Her face is full of personality and warmth and exudes calm confidence.

Madonna’s hunt for youth has of course become literal; since her divorce from Guy Ritchie she has paraded a series of men barely out of adolescence alongside her.

She must believe that her lithe baby-boyfriends make her the envy of other women, but, really, they just make her look like an insecure embarrassing mum who never gets to have an interesting conversation.

How ironic that Bening is married to Beatty, the old bed-hopper Madonna famously failed to tame but who gave it all up the moment he met the formidable Bening, with whom he settled down and had four children.

Bening has proved that it is possible even in Hollywood — the most looks and career-obsessed neighbourhood on the planet — to get off the ladder to have children, allow yourself to be almost forgotten by your peers, and return to make some of the best work of your life in your early fifties.

Madonna, the most fiercely competitive pop star of the last three decades, hasn’t made a good record for five years, though she pedals furiously to keep her profile skyscrapingly high.

Well, where to start, really? The hasn't made a good record in five years? Umm, she's only made TWO records in that time. So, okay, this writer didn't like Hard Candy -- so what? Does that mean her career is over? Obviously, she must have liked COADF, since that was five years ago.

Madonna has four children too and I'm not sure it's fair to say she looks unhappy... M's just begun her fifties, so perhaps we will see 'the best work of her life' yet.

And to say Madonna looks at turns puffy, swollen, gaunt or stretched -- well, she's aging, you know? She isn't going to look the same every day -- and when she's hard at work on tour, the poor woman struggles to keep weight on, so of course she'll look gaunt.

She praises Bening for being a Hollywood high-achiever, then admits at the end Madonna tries to keep her profile high as a pop star... Well, it seems like both of these women are trying to 'have their cake and eat it, too' by her own estimation then -- they're both mothers and both at the top of their respective fields. Except, one has taken a lot more time out of the limelight, and therefore looks older but more natural to this writer. The other looks more tired.

Oh, and I doubt Madonna's really concerned with whether she's the envy of other women... She's obviously not choosing her partners these days based on what others are thinking. She's enjoying time with a man she wants to spend time with. I'm sure she could care less whether this journalist, her fans, or anyone else approve/approves.

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