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Review: Madonna delivers bizarre VMA tribute speech for Aretha Franklin (Includes first-hand account)

The biggest problem was that Madonna’s speech was odd and eccentric and it hardly included Franklin at all. In the opening line, she briefly mentioned that Aretha Franklin changed “the course of her life,” by inspiring her to leave Michigan. It was disrespectful, somewhat insulting, and more of an ego boost of Madonna’s own career.

Madonna then went back two minutes into her speech and stated that one of her favorite albums was Lady Soul by Franklin, which inspired her to perform “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” at one of her auditions, when Madonna was trying out to be a dancer at the time.

Following her lengthy, rambling and self-indulgent speech, Madonna presented the coveted “Video of the Year” MTV VMA to Camila Cabello for “Havana.”

This tribute by Madonna earned a great deal of backlash and no “respect” on social media, and rightfully so. Madonna is no stranger to tributes. She had given a lengthy yet compelling VMA tribute to the late “King of Pop” Michael Jackson years before when he died at the age of 51.

The VMAs should have had another artist (that knew Aretha Franklin better) deliver a speech, where the focus would have been Franklin and her huge body of musical work that she left behind, and how she influenced many. A live performance in honor of Franklin by an artist would have sufficed as well. That would have saved the VMA award show a great deal of embarrassment, after Madonna’s trainwreck speech, and it would have preserved the legacy of Franklin with dignity and proper “respect.”

Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16, 2018, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. The “Queen of Soul” was 76 years old.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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