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November 2008
Slams, Put-Downs / Irrelevant, Has-Been
Twice
in the past month or two, host Bill O'Reilly of the T.V. Show The
Factor has called Madonna a "pin head." See the Bill
O'Reilly thread at the discussion board for more information on that.
Madonna
is Not Important Anymore - from the Houston Chronicle
By KEN HOFFMAN
Houston Chronicle
Nov. 19, 2008, 5:32PM.... A review of Madonna’s concert at Minute Maid Park referred to her as “the most famous woman in the world.”
I’m calling b.s. on that — and I don’t mean Barbra Streisand.
Again, like Barbara Walters’ list of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008, calling Madonna the most famous woman in the world is about five years too late. Maybe 10 years.
Madonna is simply not that important or fascinating any more. There’s an element of freak show on her current tour. King Tut still goes on tour, too.
So who is the most famous woman in the world?
Forbes magazine called Condoleezza Rice the most powerful woman in the world, but power isn’t fame.
Queen Elizabeth is powerful, sort of, but not so relevant. If she were sitting on a park bench, would anybody in the U.S. recognize her? I mean, without the crown?
My choice for most famous woman is pretty scary.
If the criteria are: who is known by the most people around the world, has influence, sells tickets, moves merchandise and makes headlines ...
I can’t believe I’m saying this ... Miley Cyrus.
The Disney Channel airs in 89 countries. And Cyrus’ show, Hannah Montana, is the No. 1 show on Disney.
If Madonna and Cyrus announced concerts, with tickets going on sale the same day, whose line would be longer?
When Cyrus played the Houston Livestock and Rodeo, it was the hottest ticket in rodeo history and the biggest payday in Houston ticket-scalping history.
That scene was repeated in city after city during Cyrus’ tour in 2008.
Madonna’s concert at Minute Maid Park was sold out — but nowhere near the ticket hysteria of Cyrus’ show at much bigger Reliant Stadium.
Hypocrite / Environment
Hat
Tip: discussion board member Knight Muzic
The
5 Most Annoying Green Trends in Hollywood
Find Out What Eco Hype Gets Our Green Goat --By Tommi Lewis Tilden
[snip photo of Madonna standing in front of a private jet plane]
4. Sanctimonious Eco Hypocrites
I'd like to say they know who they are, but they probably don't because they're surrounded by their "people" (assistants, publicists and other employees) who assure them that attending a Global Green party will offset their private jet trips and five palatial, fully staffed homes scattered across the globe.
Dry and Sour Tour
Madonna's
Detroit Sticky and Sweet performance did not sell out! There were empty
seats in the house (see links below).
In the reader comment sections at the bottom of various reviews of the tour from Detroit, Houston, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, there are many complaints from people who have attended.
Some of the complaints that keep turning up: Madonna shows up late (sometimes by as much as two hours); the show is boring or stupid; the costumes are tacky; the audio is bad; she's not singing her older, more loved songs; the on-stage videos (which play while she is undergoing costume changes) are boring.
Some people have written that they were so disappointed or bored by the show that they left early.
Ignore the positive-sounding title of the first review here and notice what it says: her Detroit show was not sold out:
Madonna
returns to Michigan with exacting, entertaining spectacle
BY BRIAN MCCOLLUM
November 19, 2008....Unlike most of the dates on this tour -- and Madonna’s previous stops in Michigan -- the show wasn’t a sellout. If anything is a bellwether of tough times in Detroit, this was it.
Fans elsewhere might still splurge $165-plus on good seats, but ticket brokers Tuesday afternoon were discounting Ford Field tickets by up to $100. And this in a city once known as a can’t-miss concert market, for acts small and large.
'4
Minutes' (hours) I'll never get back - Madonna in Detroit
November 19,2008
by Stacey DuFord
Detroit Entertainment ExaminerI wish I could say I liked the Madonna concert last night; I really wanted to.
.... And the show wasn’t even sold out; we heard them still hawking tickets on the radio as we parked. We finally get inside, get a beer and find our seats and….
Wait.
And did I mention that we [the reviewer and her husband] waited?
Does Madonna think that people who can afford to spend $200 to see a concert on a Tuesday night don’t have to get up and go to work the next day? Because she did not grace the stage until 9:30 p.m.
....And there was a lot of dancing, and rolling around, and jump roping.
At some points it was more like watching a Madonna Exercise Video than a concert.
And speaking of videos, to accommodate her costume changes each set list starts out with a “video interlude.” Sure, you were still seeing Madonna, but I can see her videos on my TV at home for free.
The whole show had a “is it live or is it Memorex” vibe because her back-up tracks were her own singing.
.... The next video interlude was incredibly boring and when she came back on she sang “Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You” atop a grand piano while surrounded by a set piece that made it look like she was in a container that kept getting filled up with water and at this point my husband turned to me and said “This is just stupid” and I agreed and we left.
Tacky Fashion
Larger
versions of photos of Madonna in this ugly green grass dress pictured
at the left are in the Vogue
Gallery
Articles about the ugly dress (some have photos):
Madonna
is Frilly and Feathery
Defamer
Instant Reactions to Madonna's Astroturf Dress From Last Night
By Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director
20 Nov 2008....But left to her own devices, Madonna is a fashion car-crash. She simply cannot do real clothes.
Countless images show her obsession with sloppy-slobby, sports-chic – oversized sweat-tops and baggy trackie-pants, with her hair pushed up underneath a laughable tweed cap and her eyes hidden behind shades. In some shots you could be looking at a Kerry Katona or a Jade Goody.
.... [Madonna wore clothes by various, famous designers over the years]
....Then came Gucci, Stella McCartney and Prada, where the designs began often to sit uneasily on her increasingly muscled and veined body.
Very rarely, now, does she look at ease. She’s tried country chic, boho luxe, tea-dresses, tailoring, furs, frump chic; it all looks the same – awkward.
She logs onto every trend going, from leggings under dresses to ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ and the return of animal print. Still no luck.
Everything she wears looks as if it belongs to someone else, as if she’s simply inhabiting it for a nanosecond.
.... Her latest style salvo, in an Louis Vuitton dress by Marc Jacobs, which looks as if someone poured a wheelbarrow of lawn clippings all over her, is just another horrific hiccup in the wardrobe of a woman of wealth, but no taste.
Filth and Wisdom
The
Thanksgiving holidays are approaching here in the United States, a time
for cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and turkeys.
Speaking of turkeys, Madonna's Filth and Wisdom was a turkey at the box office!
Madonna's
directorial debut flops
Nov 7, 2008
Queen of pop Madonna’s directorial debut is a flop, with no one wanting to watch her new movie “Filth and Wisdom”.
Madge had released her movie three weeks ago at New York's IFC Centre, and had even received some positive feedback for directing the feature, which starred members of the group Gogol Bordello, Fox News reported.
But unfortunately, even New Yorkers did not want to see it, and so far the movie has sold just over 18,000 dollars in tickets since its release October 17th.
October 2008
Rebuttals To Madonna Apologetics
Why Madonna Still Doesn't Matter - A Rebuttal to the Obnoxious, Stupid Editorial by Mike Usinger
Religion / Ego
Madonna
Tells Guy Ritchie That She's 'Bigger Than Jesus'
The Mail has learned that Guy finally decided the marriage was over during one particular bizarre exchange with his wife at their Marylebone house where she claimed to be 'bigger than Jesus'.
Said a friend: ''The argument happened at the Marylebone house. Madonna had been moaning about his lack of support and lack of interest in what she has doing with Kabbalah.
'She told Guy she did not understand why she was ridiculed by the press for what she was doing with the religion. But Guy just reacted quite sarcastically and told her to "get over herself".
'And that's when it got a bit surreal. Madonna said that her destiny had been mapped out and that she had been chosen to live this life.
'She said the reason why she is a living icon is that she had been chosen to be a spiritual guru. To which Guy turned around and said 'Listen love, you're just a singer'.
'And it was then she turned around to him and said: "Listen baby, I'm bigger than Jesus'".
Slams and Put Downs
Guy
Ritchie Told Madonna: "You're 'Old, Fat, Ugly, Wrinkled'"
Madonna:
You Look Old and Tired - Says Kylie Minogue's Designer
October 24, 2008 12:00am
The UK style guru turned designer who has worked with Kylie for 17 years, said in Sydney that while the Oz poppette has evolved her wardrobe, Madonna's has stayed the same.
MADONNA needs to drop the crotch grabbing and get a new concert wardrobe according to Kylie Minogue's long-term stylist, William Baker.
....But he claimed Madonna's concert style was tired.
"Over the years her concert clothes have always been really interesting but I didn't think there was anything new this time.
"The camera shots of her [Madonna] are also still very crotch-centric and we've seen this all before," he said.
Donald
Trump Thinks Madonna is Stupid
Madonna
is being 'beastly' over divorce to my son says Ritchie Senior -This
Is London
Madonna,
role model for a selfish generation
Excerpts:
17th October 2008
Madonna, the so-called mistress of reinvention, will surely be better remembered as the high-priestess of hypocrisy.
As her marriage crumbles, her carefully constructed image is collapsing with it and revealing her true personality. And it's not pleasant.
The dignified divorce her children have a right to expect went up in smoke on Thursday when she denigrated her husband Guy Ritchie - natural father to one of her children, father to their adopted son and stepfather to another child - as an 'emotional retard'.
If that sets the tone for the battle to come then so much for the peace and spirituality of the Kabbalah faith which she works so hard to promote.
But then I'm afraid I believe that for 25 years, Madonna, who has so cynically and assiduously promoted herself as a role model for independent, modern women, has, in fact, had a hugely detrimental effect on the values of those same women.
Throughout her hugely successful career she has personified the triumph of style over substance. She has paraded herself as a devoted wife - yet glorified casual sex.
She has vilified orthodox religion - yet set herself up as the patron saint of Kabbalah.
But most damaging of all is the example she has set as a mother. No matter how long and how viciously she and Guy Ritchie squabble over their millions, the real and lasting harm will be done to her three - soon to be four - young children.
Yes, incredibly, amid the chaos of her divorce, she plans to go ahead with the adoption of a second African orphan. And that little girl, three-year-old Mercy James from Malawi, will be raised in the same way as her adopted brother David, also from Malawi: by nannies.
Indeed, the pure selfishness of adopting David in 2006 is now laid bare. Guy Ritchie is his legal father, but what bond will he feel for a child with whom he has no blood tie and who will most likely live on the other side of the world?
And what kind of life will David and Mercy have, raised by strangers in a strange land?
Surely if Madonna cared about their happiness, she would have paid handsomely for them to be raised in their own country with their own loving families, not an army of nannies.
Not that her other children will fare much better. Madonna's daughter, Lourdes, 12, will lose her stepfather, a man she has known most of her young life. And the couple's own child Rocco, eight, will be dragged from continent to continent between warring parents.
This will be Madonna's lasting legacy: the glamorisation of a dysfunctional single-parent family.
The greatest irony of Madonna is her very name, representing as it does one of the central icons of Christianity, the eternal mother. You'd have difficulty finding a more utterly selfish one.
Goodbye
Mrs Ritchie. We hardly knew you
18 October 2008
....Cleverly suggesting that she knew an "emotional retard" on stage in New York, Madonna confirmed that she must be one herself. Everyone knows that when children are involved, you bite your lip during break-ups. Especially when everybody on the whole planet is listening.
Madonna
exclusive: Her Top 10 most embarrassing moments
Excerpts:
By Jody Thompson, Mirror.co.uk 15/10/2008
With news that her seven-year marriage to Guy Ritchie is finally over, Madonna is today facing up to yet another embarrassing failure in her life.
Because despite her immense riches and years of success at the age of 50, Madonna has had more toe-curling moments than most celebrities.
From her evermore cringe-inducing obsession with keeping up with the latest young trends well into middle-age – never mind her insistence on wearing revealing leotards at every opportunity – Madonna has refused to grow old gracefully.
Here, Mirror.co.uk rounds up Madonna’s Top 10 most embarrassing moments for you to blush along with [to read the full list, click the link]:
4. Hanky Panky. Or her cover of American Pie. Two of the nadirs of Madonna’s recorded output at any rate. The pop equivalent of fingernails down a blackboard. Hear Hanky Panky here and American Pie here – if you can stomach it.
8. As if that weren’t bad enough, after getting her boobs out on the catwalk for Jean Paul Gaultier, Madge then decided to show the world her even ruder bits in all their un-airbrushed glory in her explicit coffee table book Sex. A planet averted it’s eyes and said in unison: ‘Put it away, love’
10. Her entire involvement in the hocus pocus ‘religion’ of Kaballah. Fifty dollars for a bit of red string, we ask you.
Madonna
Officially Too Old To Compete
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Poor Madonna looked like mutton dressed as lamb at the premiere of her new film last night.
The 4 minutes singer looked ancient in her black dress on the red carpet as Lindsay Lohan was wearing a similar outfit.
The younger star looked stunning in her short black dress and big heels. Her long crimped hair was a better version of Madonnas hair style.
It's not known what Madonna thinks of Lindsay showing her up.
Baby Stealing
'Madonna's
adopted son would be better off in Malawi' says his biological father
- Daily Mail
Excerpts:
By Barbara Jones
18th October 2008The real father of Madonna's adopted son David feels bitterly disappointed that she is getting a divorce - and yesterday he declared: 'I am still a poor farmer with nothing to offer, but maybe he would be better off back with us.'
...'They [Madonna and Guy Ritchie] promised to take good care of him [David] and always remember he was from Malawi. That's why I let them take him. Now I feel let down and disappointed, really shocked.
.... 'I have never heard from her [Madonna] since the day I agreed to let her adopt David. She has sent no photographs or news. I suppose she just wants him for herself.'
Yohane
Banda (David's biological father): I don't want a single woman (Madonna)
raising David
Excerpts:
Oct 19, 2008
by Mabvuto BandaThe father of the Malawian boy adopted by Madonna has said that he was not told about her proposed divorce and does not want his son to be brought up by a single mother.
Yohane Banda, 33, a peasant farmer, said that he now regretted putting his son David up for adoption...
As I noted on the discussion board, Madonna put on a charade to fool and sucker the Malawian government into thinking she was a good mother -
-Just long enough so that she could steal David Banda
And don't forget the news reports of how
Madonna
bribed adoption officials.
Also check out stories such as
Madonna
funding Malawi official's degree,
Madonna
Accused of Bribing Adoption Official
Madonna
bankrolls man from Malawian adoption ministry,
and do a web search for the name "Willard Manjolo"
Here's further confirmation:
Trouble
brewing for months with Madonna and Guy Ritchie
The [Madonna and Guy Ritchie] relationship began showing cracks last summer when the twosome started squabbling in public, and increasingly spent more time apart.
The pair pulled it together to put on a happy face for African social workers in September who visited the couple to determine whether they could legally adopt their Malawian son, David Banda.
As soon as those adoption papers went through the couple quit making nice and again began spending time apart.
Other adoption related information:
Madonna
divorce shocks Banda father
Madonna's Mustache
Madonna's
hairy upper lip has been featured in word and photo at some web sites,
including Huffington Post and The Daily Mail.
Madonna showed up to the New York premiere of a movie she directed ("Filth and Wisdom") sporting the mustache.
Madonna's
Mustache Thread at the Discussion Board
Papa
don't bleach: Madonna forgets to wax her top lip
Excerpts:
...the 50-year-old's usual preened appearance was slightly let down by the darkened area just above her top lip, which she had apparently forgotten to wax or bleach.
...The pop star also appeared to be a few weeks behind in topping up her bleach blonde roots at the hairdressers.
Madonna: Homewrecker? - Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod
Moving Closer to Madonna
Madonna Stole Home
Sources say Madonna's relationship with Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez was going on a lot earlier than previously thought.
I've told you about A-Rod's multi million dollar 'love shack' in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel's condos over on Columbus Avenue. A-Rod, according to sources, moved in around the middle of March, right before baseball season began.
There's no question, according to insiders, that Madonna has been a steady presence at the apartment ever since then. She sort of came with the package. According to sources, Rodriguez rented the apartment without ever speaking of his wife, Cynthia. She would have been around seven months pregnant at the time.
Madonna
& A-Rod's Secret Love Shack?
Madonna
had 'affair' with A-Rod claims wife
By CHARLES MIRANDA in London
October 18, 2008 12:00am
....Both the Madonna and Rodriguez laughed off the accusation, saying they were simply good friends who shared the same manager.
But those close to Ritchie claimed he too suspected otherwise despite his wife's denials. Their being seen at Times Square together, and a week earlier at New York's Kabbalah Centre and earlier at a Mexican eatery Dos Caminos was the final straw.
Divorce from Guy Ritchie
Read
the
Guy
Ritchie Divorce thread at the Discussion Board.
Yes, Madonna and Guy Ritchie (pictured at the left) are divorcing. Who didn't see this coming?
Madonna-Ritchie
divorce confirmed - CNN
Madonna-Ritchie
Split Confirmed - Sky News
Guy
Ritchie Told Madonna: "You're 'Old, Fat, Ugly, Wrinkled'"
Guy
Ritchie's got a new - younger - gal; calls Madonna 'old, fat, ugly and
wrinkled'
Guy
Ritchie finds new love [with Kelly Reilly, age 31], like estranged wife
Madonna
The
Madonna Monster - Gawker
Is
Madonna Spying on Guy Ritchie? - Contact Music
Guy:
Now Madonna spies on me - The Sun
The
screaming matches, the money and what really broke up Madge and Guy
- (Hat Tip Anna_L for the link)
Excerpts:
By Rav Singh, 18/10/2008
As their relationship went into meltdown the musclebound singer insisted on sticking to her strict FOUR-HOUR daily exercise regime DESPITE Guy’s pleas they should spend more time together.
It meant the film director went 18 MONTHS without having sex with his wife.
And on the rare occasions when they did make love, he [Guy Ritchie] has told pals it was like “cuddling up to a piece of gristle”.
Madonna
and Guy Ritchie exclusive: Madonna's "control freak" behaviour
made marriage a 'nightmare'
Excerpts:
By Graham Brough and Beth Neil 16/10/2008
Guy Ritchie suffered a nightmare marriage dictated to by his tyrannical wife, pals revealed last night.
An enjoyable meal or a night in front of the telly with the kids were banned by his control-freak missus, sources claimed.
And he was forced out of her bedroom as she became obsessed with rituals to keep her looking young – sometimes smearing herself with creams worth £500 a pot.
....Frying pans are an absolute no-no in Her Madgesty’s household and she expects everyone to follow her impractical example.
One source said: "Guy likes to look after himself but doesn’t see the harm in having the odd treat.
"He also worries that Madonna’s paranoid attitude about food will be passed on to the children. He doesn’t want to see them have an unhealthy relationship with food."
....Guy, meanwhile, would be left holding the babies while his wife endlessly honed and toned her fat-free body.
The 50-year-old’s gruelling daily workouts have given her the incredible bulked up physique she’s famous for – but to Guy, the four-hour gym sessions intruded on family life.
He apparently begged stubborn Madonna to sacrifice some of her training hours to spend more time with him and the children. His pleas fell on deaf ears.
Refusing to sit down and chill out, she would shower and change and he would watch in despair as she dragged the kids to yet another Kabbalah religious meeting.
An insider said: "The evening meal, eaten in stony silence, would consist of – at Madonna’s insistence - steamed fish and seasonal vegetables.
....And under her strict instructions, none of the children are allowed to watch television because she believes it harms their development.
Guy is known to favour a more liberal approach to parenting but whenever he dared voice his disapproval, he would be shouted down and his suggestions would be ignored.
Madge would not even loosen up a little at bedtime.
Instead of enjoying the sort of sizzling sex which characterised their early years, Guy was forced out by her quest for eternal youth.
A friend said: "Madonna is so obsessed about lines of age showing on her face, she refuses to allow sunlight – even through windows – to touch her skin and drapes herself in linen sheets and towels in order to escape the sun’s damaging rays.
"Some nights she’ll completely cover herself with thick moisturising creams.
"She’ll go through pots and pots worth £500 a pop. And then she climbs into these protective plastic body suits. She sleeps covered in all this gunk and plastic."
Another insider added: "Guy was fed up to the back teeth with having such a regimented life. He simply couldn’t take it anymore.
"The relationship became less about passion and more about control."
Madonna gave a veiled insult against Guy Ritchie during one of her recent concerts, referring to him as being "emotionally retarded"
Which
Guy's The Retard, Madonna?
Madonna
and Guy: The gloves are off with 'emotionally retarded' slur
Guy
is 'Retarded' - Madge Diss At Concert
Madonna
makes "emotionally retarded" jibe after announcing divorce
Madonna
jabs at Guy Ritchie by dedicating song 'Miles Away' to the 'emotionally
retarded'
Guy Ritchie supposedly said Madonna looks like a 'granny' and has no talent - all of which is all true, of course.
'Guy
said I looked like a granny,' Madonna accuses husband of cruelty
Excerpts:
By Richard Simpson
17th October 2008Madonna is building an extraordinary divorce case against Guy Ritchie, claiming he was a cruel and verbally-abusive husband who would belittle and ridicule her in front of others.
....They include allegations that he [Guy Ritchie] told her [Madonna] she 'looked like a granny' on stage compared with her younger backing dancers. He is also alleged to have declared that she could not act, and was 'past it' after she turned 50.
Her lawyers say that 40-year-old Ritchie's comments made Madonna feel worthless, unattractive, unfeminine, insecure and isolated during their eight-year marriage.
Madonna
felt 'worthless' with Guy
Madonna
wants money invested in Guy Ritchie film back
Excerpt:
The bust-up over the [movie] gift was not the only cash argument. Madonna accused Guy of failing to contribute towards their nanny.
She also claimed he was not providing enough money towards son Rocco’s private education.
The source added: “It was as if Guy had given up on the marriage.
“Although Madonna is worth far more than him, she expected them to be equal partners financially.
“But Guy was just engrossed in his work and he may have just taken his eye of the ball rather than intentionally not pay. In Madonna’s eyes, these problems just added to her determination to get divorced.”
Fight
over gift 'sparked Madonna divorce'
'Madonna
is Beastly' - Guy Ritchie's Father Goes After Madonna
October 17, 2008
Guy Ritchie's father lashed out at Madonna today, calling the pop star's behavior since the announcement of the couple's divorce "beastly."
Ritchie's father, John, told The Daily Telegraph, "She is being beastly. She is saying, 'Did you ever love me?' It goes back to a time when she fell off her horse, and she's blaming him for that. She's calling him an emotional retard. When he's being bashed by her, it's horrid."
Madonna
is being 'beastly' over divorce to my son says Ritchie Snr -This Is
London
Madonna
is being "beastly", says Guy Ritchie's father -Telegraph
Guy's
father's withering verdict on Madonna
Guy
Ritchie's mum said he knew risks of marrying Madonna
The
moment Madonna fell off that horse, the marriage was doomed - The
Sun
Guy
Ritchie 'Doesn't Have to Fake It Anymore'
Sarah
Churchwell: Madonna, divorce, and the cost of turning into a commodity
Guy
Ritchie reveals why love in Madonna marriage died
Guy
Ritchie brands marriage to Madonna a "circus"
Madonna,
role model for a selfish generation
Madonna
v Guy: Mudslinging in Vogue as war begins
Make
your choice: Madonna tells mutual friends to decide between her and Guy
Gwyneth
Paltrow spent months begging Madonna to try and save her marriage
Guy
Ritchie wants 'not a penny' of Madonna's money
What
Direction Will Guy Ritchie Take Next?
Excerpt:
Oct 17 2008 by Joan Burnie
Almost inevitably Guy and Madonna will take new partners or remarry and there will be another bunch of mummies and daddies in all the kids' lives.
Chances are too that as Madge ages - even four hours a day in the gym can't hold back time - in the way of superstars, the men will become younger, a form of emotional Botox. Easier to look at them than the mirror.
Remind me again of the number of men young Lourdes has seen come and go through her mother's bedroom in her 12 years?
But no worries, mommie dearest will always be able to provide her kids with the best therapist Kabbalah and money can buy.
Excerpts:
October 16, 2008
THE marriage of Madonna and Guy Ritchie has been dogged by bitterness and recrimination for YEARS — and any notion that they have battled to save it is a myth.
...Guy has told lawyers he wants “not one penny” of her estimated £300million fortune.
....We can reveal that Madonna launched divorce proceedings against Guy after levelling a series of accusations against him — portraying him as a cruel and selfish husband.
The superstar singer told pals she had decided to end her seven-year marriage to film director Guy, 40, because he:
# REFUSED to dip into his own £30million fortune to pay for their lifestyle — while sponging off her massive wealth;
# IGNORED her pleas to spend more time in New York and shunned her love of the Kabbalah faith;
# FAILED to support her emotionally over child adoption plans, and;
# MOANED about her being in the limelight as his career disappeared.
But Guy hit back — branding Madonna a control freak obsessed with a “weird religion”.
His “increasing hatred” of her fixation with Kabbalah — a mystical off-shoot of the Jewish faith — was a huge reason behind the break-up, a source said.
The British papers are claiming Guy Ritchie has no interest in Madonna's money, but according to an American source, he is-
Guy
Ritchie goes for Madonna's millions - and there's no prenuptial
Oct 15, 2008
...."Guy wants to make himself out to be a gentleman who's above money," the Madonna pal said hours after the couple confirmed they're splitting.
"If only that was the case. The truth is he's looking for a nice piece of the pie."
(Hat tip to board member South West Ranger for the following link):
Now
for the parting of the riches, after Madonna and her Guy decide it’s
over
Excerpts:
Oct 16, 2008
....with the couple’s confirmation yesterday that they are to divorce it was also disclosed that Madonna has hired Fiona Shackleton, the lawyer who represented the Prince of Wales when his first marriage came to an end. Nothing but the best for the Queen of Pop.
Mrs Shackleton also represented Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills, reducing his former wife’s claim to a fraction of what she had requested.
Given the dizzying sums at stake in the Madonna/Ritchie settlement – they have an estimated joint fortune of £300 million, and one observer suggested that Ritchie could be awarded up to £150 million – it may be a wise appointment.
Madonna
divorce: could legal battle favour Ritchie? - Times Online
Up next: marriage is nothing more to Guy Ritche and Madonna than a business transaction.
According to some sources, Madonna and Ritchie are timing their divorce to get the maximum free publicity and profit off it, which is sick:
Trouble
brewing for months with Madonna and Guy Ritchie
Excerpts:
By JO PIAZZA
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, October 15th 2008A well-timed divorce with a huge media build-up was destined to make Madonna and Guy Ritchie super...richie?
Sources have speculated that the marriage had effectively been over for months, but orchestrating the public split now is all part of a mastermind publicity stunt to generate more moola for Madge's worldwide "Sticky & Sweet" tour.
....According to the gossip Web site's sources, the marriage has been over for some time and the couple are simply friends. But it was in the pair's best interest to generate plenty of buzz to boost ticket sales for this tour that could top $300 million.
....They reportedly plan to use the cash to secure their children's financial future.
"She is simply playing the media - and the public - as usual," a pal said.
Madonna
facing £50m divorce - Financial Times
Excerpts:
Lawyers suggested on Wednesday night that Mr Ritchie, whose career has faltered since his early success with Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, could walk away with £50m from his far wealthier wife.
Is
A-Rod Connected to Madonna's Divorce Announcement?
A-Rod
Lying Low as Madonna's Marriage Crumbles
Funny slant on the divorce from Heckler Spray:
Madonna/Guy
Ritchie Divorce: And There’s Your Confirmation - Heckler Spray
Guy
Ritchie "Crying" Over Photo of Son Rocco in Yankees T-Shirt
Madonna
offers Guy an extra £5million 'if she can dictate access rights
to children'
Madonna
divorce exclusive: She blocks Guy Ritchie's plans for kids' 'first Christmas'
'Guy
was nothing but a cheap, fake gold-digger,' says Madonna as divorce war
explodes
Guy
Ritchie's got a new - younger - gal [Kelly Reilly]; calls Madonna 'old,
fat, ugly and wrinkled'
Meet
Madonna's replacement: Kelly Reilly
Was
jealousy the motive behind Madonna and Guy Ritchie's split?
Madonna
haunted by Ritchie's ex
Ritchie
Rages as Madonna Pushes the A-Rod Button
Married
to Madonna? It can't have been easy, Guy.
Guy
and Madonna's marriage ended after 'she began scheduling sex around time
in the gym'
Not
so happy Guy about sex diary
Second
religion [Hinduism] blamed for Madonna split
Why
Madonna Wants to Bury Guy - Lock Stock and Baubles
Sunday October 26,2008
By Jane ClintonMADONNA is putting her marriage to Guy Ritchie behind her by holding a “funeral” for all the gifts he gave her.
Photographs and keepsakes from Ritchie are to be gathered up and put in a metal box – and then buried.
A source close to the singer said: “Madonna wants to get Guy’s energy out of her life to help her have a more balanced view for the divorce.
....“An assistant is auditing everything,” said the source.
“All photographs and letters will be digitally scanned and stored on a computer memory stick. There are lists of what she wants collected, which will be checked off against the box’s contents.”
This latest exercise comes as Madonna embarks on a course of Kabbalah anger management counselling to deal with her rage towards 40-year-old film director Ritchie.
It is thought the singer, a keen advocate of the Kabbalah faith, has taken a counsellor with her on her Sticky & Sweet tour to help her work through her disappointment and anger.
She is particularly incensed that personal details of their relationship have leaked out and Ritchie’s settlement demands have also sent her reeling.
“She vows she will never marry again,” said the source.
Not A Savvy Business Woman
Madonna is such a "savvy business woman" that she didn't have
Ritchie sign a pre-nup, and she might be losing up to £50 million
of her own money to Ritchie.
Donald
Trump Thinks Madonna is Stupid
Madonna
facing £50m divorce - Financial Times
Lawyers suggested on Wednesday night that Mr Ritchie, whose career has faltered since his early success with Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, could walk away with £50m from his far wealthier wife.
Scandal
Sheet: The Madonna divorce edition
But what about their combined fortune? How could the savviest woman showbiz has ever seen really not have a prenup?
The
odd couple and the £100m divorce
Excerpts:
Oct 16, 2008
One way or another, this divorce should result in a huge payout for Ritchie if properly handled."
Madonna could have protected her wealth by asking her husband to sign a pre-nuptial agreement, which would have helped a court limit the value of his claim on the fortune she amassed during her 25-year recording career.
Will
Guy Ritchie claim his share of Madonna's fortune?
(Hat tip to board member South West Ranger for following link):
Now
for the parting of the riches, after Madonna and her Guy decide it’s
over
Meanwhile Madonna, who is still on tour, may live to rue her English sojourn. Andrew Newbury, a divorce lawyer with the Manchester-based firm Pannone, said that if the split did end up in court Madonna’s decision to base her family in Britain could mean her having to pay a much larger settlement than if she lived in the US.
Guy
Ritchie goes for Madonna's millions - and there's no prenuptial
How
Will Madonna And Guy Split Their $$?
Material
Girl Faces Big Payout
Madonna's Terrible Singing
Madonna
Kicks Off North American Tour
By JANE STEVENSON -- Sun Media
....The Material Girl kicked off the North American leg of her Sticky and Sweet Tour in front of a sold-out crowd at IZOD Arena [in New Jersey] on Saturday night...
....even if she [Madonna] couldn't hit the high notes during an impromptu version of the requested song, Open Your Heart.
Backstage
Pass Blog, Sticky and Sweet NJ Tour Review
Top 10 Things Madonna Said Last Night
7. “[Expletive]! It’s too high for me!” (As she realized she started “Open Your Heart” in a key too high for her to finish.)
Madonna
Wails on Sarah Palin - Roger Friedman, FOX news
Excerpts:
For one thing, Madonna cannot sing. Luckily, she only tries to "Sing" one song, "You Must Love Me," from "Evita," It was the one real moment of poignancy from the whole evening. And whoever mixes it live deserves a Nobel prize.
Filth and Wisdom
Madonna
directed a movie called "Filth and Wisdom," and she showed up
for its premiere in New York a day or two ago.
Movie reviews: 'Filth and Wisdom,' 'Midnight Movie,' 'August Evening'
October 23, 2008
'FILTH AND WISDOM'
by COLIN COVERT
0 [Zero] out of four stars
Unrated but includes profanity, sexuality, drugs, stupidity.
Madonna's directorial debut is so abysmal in so many ways that we'd have to reduce the type size to get them all in.
The acting is arch and self-conscious, the production values are poverty row, and even the lighting is abrasive. Now that takes a special kind of negative talent -- when was the last time you were offended by a film's lighting?
.... The script, co-written by the Material Girl, is a plotless stream of incidents meant to illustrate how these flawed souls work their way back to the light.
....Actually, he elucidates every notion in the film's empty little head, starting half his lines with the catchphrase, "In my country we have a saying. ... " Here's one Madonna might want to memorize: "Don't quit your day job."
Take
Madonna's 'Filth' Out With Rubbish
Excerpts:
By James Verniere, Boston Herald
"I'm going straight to hell," announces the narrator of Madonna's feature directing debut "Filth and Wisdom."
Little did I know so was I.
A narcissistic psychodrama (Really, what did you expect?), the film tells the story of three London flatmates: A.K. (Eugene Hutz, frontman of the gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello), a musician for a gypsy-punk band who moonlights as a cross-dressing S&M hooker...
Filth
and Wisdom An Amateurish Stab at Sagacity
Excerpts:
By Rossiter Drake (Oct 24, 2008)
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars.
Let it never be said that Madonna’s self-serving fascination with sex, which once stirred enough controversy to make even her most calculated exploits seem like bona fide events, has diminished with age. It’s just that we’re no longer shocked, and only mildly interested.
Filth and Wisdom, her directorial debut, has arrived with more of a whimper than a bang, and the results are surprisingly shoddy, even by the standards expected of a first-time would-be auteur.
....Filth and Wisdom is unconvincing. In the end, it begs the question posed by a pop sensation of a different era: Is that all there is?
“Filth
and Wisdom,” By Madonna
By Raymond Fitzmyer
October 24th 2008....As a director, Madonna didn’t help her characters to follow a straight way in the movie. She is clueless about directing. But isn’t that “wanting makes you getting?”
Movie
review: 'Filth and Wisdom'
Ruthe Stein, Chronicle Senior Movie Writer
Friday, October 24, 2008Of the 22 movies Madonna has acted in, she's watchable in three - "Desperately Seeking Susan," "A League of Their Own" and "Evita." So having messed up nearly every time she stepped in front of a camera, there is a crazy logic to her decision to try her hand at directing.
....Nothing in this cynical bit of claptrap feels remotely real. She makes it impossible to relate to her main characters - all residents of a rooming house in a marginal London neighborhood - or their plight.
....Madonna is clueless about how to keep a movie moving along. "Filth & Wisdom" is dead in the water, an excruciating bore even at a compact 84 minutes.
October 24, 2008; Page WE31
The best part of "Filth and Wisdom," Madonna's directorial debut, is that it's only 81 minutes long. It could have been 82.
Madonna fans will probably want to go anyway -- hey, I can't stop you -- but I can tell you that the movie delivers on neither of the promises of its title.
It's not filthy, although it seems to think it is, and the only wisdom you'll gain from this ham-handed exercise is learning to never again trust Madonna behind the camera.
....The idea, as A.K. informs us, is that rolling around in the filth leads you to wisdom and enlightenment; you know, art, the hidden beauties and terrors of life in the demimonde, blah, blah.
Maybe it does, but the only thing this movie should lead you to is the nearest exit.
By Ty Burr
Globe Staff / October 24, 2008Now that Madonna and Guy Ritchie have officially called it quits, all that remains is the issue of custody. Madge should get the children and the brassiere collection. Based on her directorial debut, Ritchie should get the filmmaking career.
....On the other hand, the quality of the writing and performances in "Filth and Wisdom" are of the let's-put-on-a-show variety, and the filmmaking is self-indulgence itself. Worst of all, the movie's simply not very shocking.
.... [A movie character named] A.K. is fond of saying things like, "In my country, we have a saying: He who licks the knives will cut his tongue." In my country, we have a saying: Pop stars who make movies should stick to what they know.
Confessions
on a Movie Screen? Madonna directs peculiar comedy 'Filth and Wisdom'
....However, with her directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, she [Madonna] now proves herself to be a limited filmmaker.
....The tone of the film is also wildly uneven.
....the film’s pacing is off target.
.... But this feature (which even at 83 minutes feels long) has as much style as it does substance – meaning, very little. The Material Girl needs to create better material.
Madonna,
No Wanna - negative review of Filth and Wisdom from the New York Post
(Hat tip South West Ranger)
Oct 17, 2008
Guess who gets custody of the directing talent?
Given Madonna's utter failure to master acting in a lengthy screen career that's included such legendary bombs as "Shanghai Surprise" and "Swept Away," it's not exactly surprising that her directing debut, "Filth and Wisdom," is thoroughly inept in just about every aspect.
Madge's idea of pushing the envelope seems stuck somewhere in the early 1980s, when the idea of a male dominatrix (annoying Ukranian singer Eugene Hutz) and a pole dancer (Holly Weston) might seem remotely shocking. It's certainly been a long time since we heard David Rose's "The Stripper" (1962) in a movie.
Co-written by one of Guy Ritchie's former gofers, the relentlessly tedious "Filth and Wisdom" is set in Madge's (now apparently former) adopted home of London. It's peopled by a collection of racial stereotypes, including an Indian druggist and a Jewish couple that will win her no friends in the kabbalah set.
'Filth
and Wisdom': Absolute Beginner, By Kurt Loder
This negative review concludes with this wonderful ending:
Also lamentable, perhaps, is Madonna's decision to call her production company Semtex Films. Semtex is a well-known plastic explosive, much favored by terrorists. To make bombs.
It
Would Be Wise To Avoid Madonna's New Movie
Madonna
demonstrates solid attempt, yet fails at first film
'Filth
and Wisdom': More of the former than the latter
Excerpts:
Plot strands don't come together, and when in doubt, Madonna cuts away to a band performance or a song montage. The music is the undeniable highlight.
The film's attempts to be quirky and arty instead feel stagy and cobbled-together. The project reportedly began as a short, and it sometimes has the feel of one padded out into a full-length feature.
....While individual scenes pay homage to such directors as Fellini and Godard, and films such as The Graduate, Filth and Wisdom is pretentious and structurally flawed, never truly coming together as a coherent work.
10 great
moments in Madonna cinema
Excerpts:
By Dave White
msnbc.com contributor....This week’s release of “Filth and Wisdom,” her directorial debut (that’s right, she directed a feature), isn’t going to help change anyone’s mind, either.
It’s so bad it’s already made the loop past so-bad-it’s-good all the way back to plain old bad again. Twice.
It’s the kind of fractured accident of a movie that history looks back at and wonders if Jerry Lewis’ nazi flick, “The Day The Clown Cried,” might not have been such a bad idea after all.
Tacky Fashion
Madonna
wore some tacky gun shoes (high heels where guns served as the heels -
see photo at left) to the New York premiere of her movie Filth and Wisdom.
This didn't go over well with some folks.
Madonna
Criticized for Gun Shoes
What
next for gun heeled Madonna ... a suicide belt?
Madonna is snapped stepping out in a pair of bizarre shoes with heels shaped like guns.
....Does she have no idea what is going on in the world around her?
Of course she does. She bans her own children from watching television so they don’t get sullied or corrupted but thinks it is perfectly fine for her to brandish her filth in front of ours.
....And it’s not even as if Madge is wearing them as a one-off. These shoes are going to be sold worldwide and I bet they will sell out too as hordes of fashion victims rush to get in on the act.
I wonder what real victims, those who have lost loved ones because of guns or survived shootings themselves, have to say about that?
Lynn Costello, from anti-violence group Mothers Against Murder And Aggression, says she is horrified and that Madonna should know better. I agree.
Just
what are Madonna's gun heels saying?
Madonna
makes fashion gaff at movie premiere
MADONNA has shot herself in the foot by wearing shoes featuring pistol-shaped heels.
The Chanel shoes caused a sensation when she arrived in them at the New York premiere of Filth & Wisdom, her first movie as director.
But it was not the sort of attention the 50-year-old singer was hoping for.
Last night anti-gun campaigners in Britain, where Madonna has lived for several years, denounced her as "irresponsible" and "utterly senseless" for choosing such a design at a time when violent crime involving guns is soaring there.
Dee Edwards, co-founder of the charity Mothers Against Murder and Aggression said: "I am utterly disgusted by this.
"It is not fashion, it is not style, it is glorifying guns.
"Kids are dying every day in Britain from gun and knife crime.
"I would like to see her walk into a mortuary or a hospital wearing those shoes to see a young child whose life has been ripped from him by guns - and then claim it as a fashion statement."
Bad Acting
As
we note at the discussion board (here),
Madonna has never accepted responsiblity for her failed movie career (as
actress or director): she simply lacks talent at either one.
She's continuing the tradition of shifting the blame on to others:
Madonna
Lashes Out At Film Critics
[The Filth and Wisdom movie premiere was] Thrown by the Cinema Society and Dolce & Gabbana at the Sunshine Cinema on the Lower East Side, the new director [Madonna] showed up at 8:15, complained about the few empty seats in the auditorium ("I'm used to much bigger crowds than this, that's all I have to say," she said) and then launched into a speech in which she went after anyone who might have given her a nasty review or slagged off her first film, "Filth and Wisdom."
"There's a certain resentment when people do one thing well and then try to do something else," she said. "And everybody gets a bug up their ass. But that's their f--g problem and the fact of the matter is that it really wasn't such a big leap [directing a film] because I'm a storyteller."
Madonna is Not Elegant: She's Trashy and Rude
Fan
Site, tour review, New York
After the request section, she [Madonna] wouldn't continue to 'hung up' until everyone on the lower loge seated level got up, she said "What is this? A f*cking bar mitzvah???" then, on the right side of the stage, there were 2 girls in the front row of the lower loge and they were still sitting, she started to talk directly to them, she said "Get up! Show some respect"
Thursday, 9 October 2008
It looks like Madonna might have to reinvent herself again if she wants to keep her fans.
The Queen of Pop failed to grab the attention of one fan during her concert in New York.
He allegedly sat down because he was bored and wanted to go home.
According to The Sun Madonna turned on her fan and said: "Are you f***ing bored, sir? Why are you sitting? I'm busting my arse up here."
She then said to the rest of the audience: "Clap for me...my ego is bruised right now!"
It seems strange that Madonna would single out a fan in such a way.
After all, he had to pay a lot of money to see the Material Girl in action - and why couldn't he sit down?
OMG!
Madonna 'confronts bored fan at concert'
Madonna's Mouthpieces, Publicists, & Liz Rosenberg
The
fans sometime behave as though you cannot trust anything the media say
about Madonna (if it's negative, at least), and the ones at the 'fan'
sites tell their readers to only believe something if it comes from Liz
Rosenberg's mouth (or computer, typewriter, or pen).
The folly of that view is demonstrated here (on Madonna Tribe, which got this information from the AP and BBC News)-
In July, Madonna's publicist denied the pair were planning to divorce, saying their marriage did not "need saving".
And now, of course, it's been confirmed that Madonna and Ritchie are divorcing.
From the primary source, BBC:
Madonna
and Ritchie confirm split
Who
Does Madonna's Divorce Announcement Really Screw Over? - Jossip
Liz
Rosenberg, Madonna's Lying Flack - Gawker
Excerpts:
....Well, how credible is Liz Rosenberg? She told the world in 2006 that Madonna was not adopting a baby in Malawi. Although, of course, Madonna did adopt a baby in Malawi.
....* She [Liz Rosenberg] does a good job of staying friendly with celebrity magazine editors, naturally—she's allegedly been showering the editor of People with free Madonna tickets for a decade or more.
* She [Liz Rosenberg] knows how to play hardball—she reportedly managed to silence a good deal of potential press coverage of Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone's book last summer, which portrayed the singer negatively.
So Rosenberg does her job. Regardless, no matter how much wheedling, pleading, bargaining, threats, or doubletalk a flack uses, they're not supposed to flat-out lie. But Rosenberg has quite a reputation for lying.
Look! Some of the most vehement "Rosenberg is a liar" voices are the most fervent Madonna fans, like commenters on AbsoluteMadonna.com. It might be advantageous to court them, from a PR point of view!
Celebrity flacks are probably the only remaining category of PR people who can get away with bald-faced lies, and continue to be effective in their jobs.
....Media flacks? Lord, they have to be friends with reporters. To lie is to die. Despite the vague public perception that all flacks are liars, they really can't be if they want to have a long-term career.
Unless they have a client like Madonna! Because the celebrity media will want to cover Madonna for the rest of her natural life no matter what she or her flack does. So Liz Rosenberg, yes, probably finds it expedient to just lie and now and then, without any real consequences.
But that also means you shouldn't necessarily believe anything she says.
Madonna's
Rep Added To Prestigious List Of Lying Flacks
Liz
Rosenberg thread at the Discussion Board
Sarah Palin
(Madonna, the rude, trashy bimbo, continues to insult Sarah Palin during
the Dry and Sour Tour)
Madonna
Threatens to Kick Sarah Palin's Ass
by Elizabeth Fairview | October 9th, 2008
....Madonna is really starting to weird us out. After making nonsensical remarks about Sarah Palin, Madonna has resorted to West Side Story-like threats.
At another concert in New York City last night, Madonna said she would kick Palin's ass if she didn't, "get off my street."
Silly Madonna is under the impression she owns the streets. She's also under the impression that it's legal to kick people's asses who are on said streets.
Madonna
Threatens Palin In Impromptu Song -Contact Music
Madonna's
Stripped Down 'Lucky Star' Isn't Meant for That 'bitch' Sarah Palin
....At her Monday concert at Madison Square Garden, then, the fledgling director and potential A-Rod squeeze put on her pundit's hat, announcing that "Sarah f*cking Palin" was decidedly not invited to the concert (a message Palin may have already gathered from Madonna's tasteful McCain/Hitler montage) and exhorting the crowd to "get that b*tch out of here!"
Madonna
screeches her hate for Sarah Palin
Madonna
Demonstrates Bad Sportsmanship When She Screams About Sarah Palin Onstage
....Celebrities, Madonna included, have gotten extremely personal during this presidential campaign. And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, Celebrity News Service wishes that most of the celebrities would keep their personal opinions to themselves.
It's one thing to present the facts and state that you like a certain candidate, but it's completely different when a performer is screaming things from the stage.
Madonna
Throws Condoms To New York Fans In Jibe At Sarah Palin
Madonna
Downplays Her Physical Threats Against Sarah Palin: 'It's A Metaphor'
Madonna
on a Sarah Palin rampage
Sour and Dry Tour
Toned-down
Madonna Disappoints
Excerpts:
Fans who wanted to dance the night away on this tour were probably disappointed, as there were only a few numbers that took on a club-like atmosphere.
Madonna did not help the night get off to a good start by going on at 9:20 p.m., about 40 minutes later than a press representative said she would be taking the stage.
........Madonna tried to get the crowd going with “Spanish Lesson,” an abysmal track from the new record, but the crowd was not buying it.
....Then things reached rock bottom with the Romanian folk interlude...
........But then the show ended on a low note, with “Ray of Light,” which is over-rated as a dance song; an attempt at an acoustic, crowd-interactive “Open Your Heart,” which failed; a rock version of “Hung Up” which barely featured the signature Abba melody, and a lackluster “Give It To Me,” which does not have the pure joy or energy of a classic hit such as “Holiday.”
Madonna
Aerobic, Not Erotic: The Concert as Workout
Excerpt:
Has there ever been a colder pop sex symbol? For all the invitations in her lyrics, Madonna has always projected more calculation and industriousness than affection.
....Her moves were aerobic, not erotic; in one song, other dancers spotted her as if they were personal trainers.
September 2008
Old Lady Album
Fans
were asked by Madonna (via her fan magazine, "ICON") to artificially
create demand for her songs on radio.
By Bruno, a French Madonna fan (