Madonna is making headlines for her decision to interpret traditional Christian imagery in her latest photo shoot.
The “Material Girl” singer caused controversy yet again with the religious-themed photos depicting traditional Christian art. The 64-year-old pop singer posed on the cover of a European edition of Vanity Fair for its Icon Issue dressed to look like Our Lady of Sorrows, a popular Catholic devotional depicting Mary with her heart pierced by seven swords.
Inside the photo spread, Madonna can also be seen reenacting the famous portrayal of the Last Supper, but in her version, she’s surrounded by scantily clad women and holding up bread in an apparent mimicry of the Christian tradition of the holy Eucharist.
New Madonna Vanity Fair photo shoot. These people and that whole industry is utterly demonic. pic.twitter.com/GrLnpP8gqG
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 20, 2023
The singer was raised Catholic and has been openly critical of the church before. In the new Vanity Fair interview, she defended her overall perception of religious doctrine.
“I was fiercely criticized by the Catholic Church,” she asserted, per Breitbart. “I quickly realized that they were the problem, not me. They were the problem because they did not understand that my work as an artist united people, gave them freedom of expression, unity. It was the mirror of Jesus’ teachings.”
Photographers Luigi Murenu and Iango Henzi directed Madonna’s two-day Vanity Fair photo shoot.
“In this very special issue, Madonna becomes Madonna again: an icon. Not just the embodiment of a musical trend or a style of dress, but a figure as disturbing as she is sacred,” said Olivier Bouchara, Head of Editorial Content for Vanity Fair France.
Other photos garnering reactions online include Madonna wearing a low-cut white dress covered in severed body parts from baby dolls.
In another snapshot, Madonna can be seen wearing a skull mask that covers the bottom half of her face. “These people and that whole industry is utterly demonic,” one Twitter reaction to the photos says.
Despite her relationship with the Catholic church, the “Like a Prayer” singer has reached out to church officials in the past. In May, she tweeted at the pope and requested a meeting.
“Hello @Pontifex Francis —I’m a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don’t Swear! Its been a few decades since my last confession,” she wrote at the time. “Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters? I’ve been ex communicated (sic) 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely Madonna.”