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Madonna’s VMA ‘Tribute’ To Aretha Gets Roasted

Madonna's VMA 'Tribute' To Aretha Gets Roasted
Madonna. (By chrisweger / CC BY 2.0)
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NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) There was no tribute to Aretha Franklin at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards unless one counted a video snippit of the Queen of Soul singing “I Say A Little Prayer” and Madonna talking about herself, which apparently didn’t go over very well.

“Many, including myself, feared that Madonna was going to sing a song by the Queen, but fortunately, she spared us,” Deadline Hollywood’s Dino-Ray Ramos.

Madonna ended the night with a sleepy story about her early career when she sang “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman” at an audition – one of the very few mentions of Franklin in the story that was primarily about Madonna (except for “Thank you for empowering all of us. Long live the queen”).

The story also took some time to tell and was likely a factor in the show running long and ending abruptly after the subsequent Aerosmith performance.

It wasn’t unnoticed with Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo, #OscarsSoWhite founder/activist April Reign, Campaign Zero co-founder Brittany Packnett and YouTube personality Kingsly just a few to weigh in:

Chances are, though, nobody saw it anyway.

Madonna responded on Instagram, saying she did not intend to do a tribute and could not do so in “2 minutes”:

Im with the Winner!! The beautiful @camila_cabello ! So proud of her! 🌈💕🎉. And just to clarify: I was asked to present video of the year by MTV! And then they asked me to share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin! I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her! That would be impossible in 2 minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show. I could never do her justice in this context or environment. Unfortunately most people have short attention spans, and are so quick to judge. I love Aretha! R.E.S.P.E.C.T. 🙏🏼. I Love Camilla! Congrats! I LOVE my dress! AND. I love-L O V E!! ♥️ and there is nothing anyone can say or do that will change that. #vmas #postivevibes

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