Russia Tried to Fine Madonna $1 Million for a Gay Rights Speech
Madame X has always been an outspoken LGBTQ ally.
In a recent Instagram post, Madonna claimed that the Russian government tried to fine her $1 million for speech she made in support of gay rights at a concert in St. Petersburg eight years ago. The show was part of her 2012 MDNA world tour, which took the legendary pop singer to North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia.
"I am here to say that the gay community and gay people, here and all around the world, have the same rights to be treated with dignity, with respect, with tolerance, with compassion, with love," the Madame X singer and longtime LGBTQ ally says in the video.
Madonna in concert during 2012's MDNA world tour.
"Are you with me?" she asks, to rapturous applause from the audience.
The hefty fine is no surprise coming from Russia's infamously anti-LGBTQ government. Their history of censoring so-called "homosexual propaganda" aside, the country's leaders have repeatedly neglected to address the horrific torture of LGBTQ people in nearby Chechnya, an ongoing human rights violation NewNowNext has covered at length since reports first emerged in 2017.
The best part of Madge's anecdote, though? She didn't cough up a single cent, according to her Instagram post. How's that for queen shit?
Watch the full speech below.
