Arts & Entertainment
Cyndi Lauper criticizes Madonna’s controversial Women’s March speech
the singer says speeches like that ‘jacks people up’
(Screenshot via YouTube.)
Cyndi Lauper thinks Madonna’s speech at the Women’s March in D.C. “didn’t serve its purpose.”
“I was glad that she (Madonna) went,” Lauper, 63, said on “Watch What Happens Live.” “I think it happens a lot when you are really jacked up, feeling your emotions. I don’t think it served our purpose because anger is not better than clarity and humanity.”
In Madonna’s passionate speech she said that she had thought about blowing up the White House and used profanity. Afterward, Madonna posted on Instagram that her White House comment had been taken out of context.
Other celebrities who spoke to the crowds at the March included Alicia Keys and Scarlett Johansson. For Lauper, Johansson’s speech was more productive.
“When you want to change people’s minds, you have to share your real story like Scarlett Johansson. She shared her story. It was clear. It was eloquent. Yelling doesn’t. It just jacks people up,” Lauper continued.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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