FEATURE:
A Delay to the Celebrations…
we all got a bit of a shock. Waking up to news that Madonna was taken to hospital with a serious bacterial infection was not what anyone was expecting. Preparing for The Celebration Tour, maybe things have caught up with her. It was due to kick off in Vancouver on 15th July. Several dates have now been postponed. Fans will be disappointed but, as we read, it is quite fortunate that things were not even more serious for the Queen of Pop:
“Madonna spent several days in intensive care after developing a serious bacterial infection on Saturday. Her manager said in a statement that she will be postponing a world tour that was scheduled to kick off next month.
The singer remains under medical supervision, Guy Oseary said on Instagram, but is expected to make a full recovery. “We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows,” he said.
Madonna’s representatives, including Oseary, could not immediately be reached for comment on the seriousness of her condition or whether she was awake and responsive.
Her Celebration Tour, announced in a video in January that featured Amy Schumer, Jack Black and Lil Wayne, among others, was set to begin in Vancouver on July 15, with concerts planned to stretch into next year. The tour was set to include stops in Seattle, New York, D.C., Mexico City and London.
“I don’t take any of this for granted,” Madonna, 64, said a few days after announcing her tour. “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”
The pop star has had a string of health incidents in past years, including horseback riding accidents in 2005 and 2009. In 2020, she announced she would be undergoing regenerative treatment for missing cartilage, several months after she abruptly canceled a performance in Lisbon, saying she had “to listen to my body and rest”.
Of course, there was an outpouring of empathy and support from fans. Depressingly, there were plenty more who were only offering up cruel comments and negativity. Whether commenting on Madonna’s appearance or her age, the misogyny that has always been aimed at her was relit at the most inappropriate time! It is always horrible when you read insulting and hugely insensitive remarks made about Madonna. This must be an incredibly stressful time for her. Having prepared for the tour and worked tirelessly on it, she now has to rest and postpone some of the earliest dates. I am not sure which date is the official start of the tour now, but I am sure that the ones she misses will be rescheduled. Planning to run until next year, it is a long time on the road for Madonna. She has been rehearsing and tightening the show for a long time. It would have been exciting to see her back on stage soon, but things are on the back burner for a little while. I wanted to wish her the best. It was a nervous moment looking at the news, everyone hoping that her condition would not deteriorate. Fortunately, she has been given the all-clear and, after some time to recuperate, things will reignite and she will head onto the tour then.
More than ever, we need to respect Madonna and show her support. The fact that anyone – let alone the hordes who did – felt the need to be insulting and disrespectful at a time when she was very ill is something I wanted to tackle more. So many women in music face sexism and misogyny. Madonna is on the receiving end of ageism. Considering all that she has given the world and think about all the people that she has inspired; she deserves a lot of respect and love. Most people do, but there is that proportion of people that feel the need to leave vitriol and hate. Whether remarking on her body and past (the fact that she was a sexually liberated and bold artist), or making light of her being in hospital, it is always so baffling why anyone feels the need to do such things! Women in the industry have to deal with this sort of thing all the time. When you get to a certain age, there is another layer of discrimination and toxicity aimed at them. I have said it many times before, but we do need to show much more respect to women in music. Women like Madonna have given so much and changed the face of music. The way many people perceive them is shocking! I hope that Madonna makes a complete recovery and can go on the road with plenty of support behind her. There is a tonne of love out there for her, so I hope anyone who felt the need to be callous and appalling when news of her hospitalisation broke reassess things – though, sadly, people often don’t! It will be good to see her on stage in front of the fans soon but, for now, she deserves a bit of time to recharge, listen to her body and…
TAKE good care.