Madonna takes aim at "ageist" critics
Madonna has spoken out against wide-spread criticism of her appearance after presenting at the Grammy Awards.
The 64-year-old musician introduced Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance of their hit song Unholy at the annual music award ceremony, but rather than focus on the "history making" performance, many were quick to comment on Madonna's appearance.
Following her moment on the stage, Madonna's social media was flooded with comments calling her scary, unrecognisable and denouncing her supposed "obsession with plastic surgery", despite the singer never confirming having cosmetic enhancements.
Hitting back at online trolls, Madonna took to Instagram to condemn the "ageism and misogyny" of her critics, while refusing to apologise for her "creative choices".
In a lengthy post, she wrote, "Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim - Many people chose to only talk about close-up photos of me taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face!!"
"Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in. A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45, and feels the need to punish her if she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous."
She continued, "I have never apologised for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start. I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come."
She concluded the post by saying, "I look forward to many more years of subversive behaviour, pushing boundaries, standing up to the patriarchy, and most of all enjoying my life."
While her post was flooded with support from her celebrity friends, she also welcomed a new wave of criticism with many commenters thinking her anger was misdirected.
One person said, "Ok but there's an elephant in the room here - This is not ageism - it is plastic surgery and filler! How is this ageism when YOU did all this to yourself in order to prevent looking old? Give yourself a break from those fillers and stop blaming ageism for what you choose to do to yourself."
Image credits: Getty Images