Madonna Claims She Was Threatened By Putin


Via Shutterstock.

Via Shutterstock.

Love her or hate her, the Material Girl has some strong words for Russia and other countries who have scrutinized homosexuality. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Madonna said she will no longer perform in St. Petersburg or Moscow.

“I don’t want to perform in places where being homosexual is tantamount to a crime,” she told reporters. According to Attitude Magazine, the last time Madonna appeared in Russia and supported the group Pussy Riot, Putin threatened the performer with jail time for “promoting gay behavior.”

Madonna went on to say:

“Needless to say, I did not change one moment of my show. 87 of my fans were arrested for gay behaviour – whatever that is…The right to be free, to speak our minds, to have an opinion, to love who we want to love, to be who we are – do we have to fight for that? I’ve always considered myself a freedom fighter since the early ‘80s when I realized I had a voice and I could sing more than songs about being a Material Girl or feeling Like a Virgin.”

Attitude reports that anti-LGBT Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov called Madonna “a hypocritical old woman” in response to her claims. He went on to say, “These shameless hypocrites show their paraffin inflated muzzle only when it is politically convenient.”