Arts & Entertainment
Watch: Madonna gives surprise NYE performance at Stonewall Inn
The pop star was joined by her son David Banda
Madonna gave a surprise performance for partygoers at New York City’s historic Stonewall Inn on New Year’s Eve.
The 60-year-old pop star stopped by with her son David Banda, 13, to give a speech on the LGBT movement and to treat the crowd to two musical performances.
āIf we truly look and we truly take the time to get to know one another, we would find that we all bleed the same color and we all need to love and be loved. As we stand here together tonight, letās remember who we are fighting for and what we are fighting for. We are fighting for ourselves. We are fighting for each other. But truly and most importantly, what are you fighting for? We are fighting for love,ā Madonna addressed the crowd.
āIn this new year, letās commit to disarming people with unexpected acts of kindness,ā she continued. āLetās be counterintuitive. Share what you know with someone you donāt agree with. Get outside your comfort zone. Letās try to be more forgiving. Maybe we will find an opening to let the light come in. Letās close up the distance between one human being and another. Are you ready to do that?ā
She followed up her speech by asking “everyone to say a little prayerā before launching into a performance of “Like a Prayer” accompanied by Banda on acoustic guitar. In the middle of the performance, she hugged her son and the pair sang together.
Madonna closed out the mini set with a rendition of āCanāt Help Falling in Love” that turned into a group sing-along with the crowd.
@Madonna, activist and friend, gave a surprise performance at stonewall. And she was everything you imagined to be. ā¤ #ally #hiv #UEqualsU #madonna pic.twitter.com/Y7p5fffWdi
ā Plus Magazine (@HIVPlusMag) January 1, 2019
The Stonewall Inn performance isn’t too much of a surprise as Variety reports that Madonna was named the Stonewall ambassador for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s HonĆ³rio Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman MĆ“nica BenĆcio, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” saidĀ AssociaƧao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association ofĀ TravestisĀ and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on itsĀ X account.Ā “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian observed International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)