It wasn’t long ago that we called out Madonna for being out of touch. Last night (May 22), Twitter users leveled similar criticism at the singer following her tribute performance to Prince at the Billboard Music Awards.
Watch: Stevie Wonder and @Madonna pay tribute to Prince at the #BBMAs https://t.co/VIlBnzZkWp https://t.co/S1wHpqvmw9
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 23, 2016
The performance, introduced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and featuring Stevie Wonder, provoked controversy well before Sunday night. Critics were concerned that the pop star—sometimes compared to Prince for her ’80s-pop-chart domination, prolific career and ongoing image reinvention—would not be able handle such an important tribute. As these responses attest, many think she didn’t:
Prince’s ashes bout to reanimate like MJ in the Remember the Time video.
— Freckle Goddess (@WhoIsDommie) May 23, 2016
Saint Peter: Did you enjoy that Madonna tribute to you on @billboard @BBMAs? #BBMAs
Prince: pic.twitter.com/3HavgkHvXo
— April (@ReignOfApril) May 23, 2016
Me for the next five minutes or so. #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/L62i1poA7a
— Jose Vilson (@TheJLV) May 23, 2016
Dearly Beloved, we r gathered here today to see a horrific flat version of my music @Madonna #BBMAs #PrinceTributeGoneWrong
— Santiago Restrepo (@Santisus) May 23, 2016
Black folks watching the #BillboardMusicAwards, when Madonna does her tribute to Prince. pic.twitter.com/pYxsRlFt4R
— LEFT (@LeftSentThis) May 23, 2016
Even BET threw shade, previewing next month’s BET Awards and its own Prince tribute with this video:
#BETAwards #PrinceTribute pic.twitter.com/VpnjybXia2
— #BETAwards (@BETAwards) May 23, 2016
Questlove came to the Madonna’s defense in a series of tweets this morning (May 23):
because of P’s well known love for the *poof* vanishing act. A lot of us are left feeling incomplete in the act of saying goodbye.
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016
For starters it’s hard to accept him no longer being here. & in the upcoming award season for ’17 there will be a gang of tributes
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016
Naturally there will be folded arms & shade thrown because the Purple Standard is hard boots to fill & a lot of us don’t wanna come 2 grips
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016
And EVERYBODY wants and deserves a chance to say goodbye in their own way. But remember: there will be AMAs, SoulTrain, NAACP, mtv, GRAMMYS
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016
And a gazillion other tributes. But the point is let’s not get ugly w playing the "Prince would and wouldn’t approve" game.
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 23, 2016
Madonna also defended her performance:
(H/t The Root, The Hollywood Reporter, The Huffington Post, Billboard)