Madonna has been on her Celebration World tour since last year, making memories and offering fans unforgettable experiences. However, during one of her recent gigs at Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the Queen of Pop had a somewhat awkward moment with a concertgoer in a wheelchair.
The “Material Girl” singer noticed a member of the audience sitting as she serenaded them and asked that they “take this ride with me.” “What are you doing sitting down over there?” she asked while walking over to the person. She soon realized they were disabled and apologized, but social media users felt she could have done better.
Fans react to Madonna calling out disabled fan for not standing
On realizing why the fan never stood, Madonna said, “Oh, okay. Politically incorrect. Sorry about that. I’m glad you’re here.” Soon enough, the 65-year-old was under fire for the incident, with many users expressing their distaste towards her reaction. “That is a sad apology! What the heck? Refund them their ticket!!” someone demanded.
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Another insisted concertgoers can choose whether to stand or not, regardless of their abilities. “Maam, there are 100 reasons why someone might sit — and all of them are valid,” they said, with another emphasizing that the music icon “didn’t apologize well enough.”
“She was too quick to judge but too slow to say sorry? That apology ain’t cutting it for me,” someone else noted, urging Madonna “to do better than that.”
More backlash for Madonna
Disabled people were particularly displeased by Madonna’s entitlement to fans’ standing ovations and shared their experiences at other concerts. “I went to a concert a couple of months after going through surgery and chemo and couldn’t stand the whole time. I would’ve been mortified to be called out like this,” someone recalled. “That is exactly why performers shouldn’t concern themselves with if someone is sitting or not,” another echoed.
From her style to being tardy, Madonna has been the subject of much criticism as well as praise during her tour, which kicked off last October. Regardless of the pushbacks, she has continued to do what she does best and respond to the “haters” when she can. “I have never apologized 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 look forward to many more years of subversive behavior — pushing boundaries — standing up to the patriarchy and, most of all, enjoying my life,” she previously warned.