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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Madonna booed at Bucharest concert for defending Gypsies

World Aug. 28, 2009 - 05:39AM JST ( 13 )

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13 Comments

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knackerzAug. 28, 2009 - 10:03AM JST

very well put. >

Madonna’s outrage touched a nerve in Romania, but it seems doubtful it will change anything, said the Soros Foundation’s Motoc.

“Madonna is a pop star. She is not an expert on interethnic relations,” he said.
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rajakumarAug. 28, 2009 - 11:00AM JST

Way to go Madonna, finally doing something other than singing hit songs.
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WolfpackAug. 28, 2009 - 11:10AM JST

It's stupid for an entertainer to get political during a show. She may well be right about discrimination against Gypsies in Europe, but save the righteous indignation for your blog Madonna.
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bgaudryAug. 28, 2009 - 01:04PM JST

Typical American judging the world through her own rose-tinted spectacles. Discrimination against gypsies is terrible, but none of Mad-onna's business. People paid to hear your music, not your political views.
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USARoninAug. 28, 2009 - 01:25PM JST

People paid to hear your music, not your political views.

BQauDry, you and most Americans aren't so far off on this. That's exactly how most of us feel about Bono.

Madonna... Isn't she a Brit now anyways?
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sydenhamAug. 28, 2009 - 01:27PM JST

Ahh, the Roma. In Montreal it started out as one Roma woman on crutches begging for money. Soon there were at least a dozen of them cruising the same street all doing the same thing with the same crutches and bandaged legs and some with young babies, sometimes in groups. Occasionally, i would catch a couple of them walking perfectly well, crutches strapped to their backs, making their way from the Metro to that one profitable strip of Sherbrooke Street West.

That was just my first of many exposures to the "Roma." I have serious doubts about whether all the righteous indignation against how they are treated is actually justifiable.
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presto345Aug. 28, 2009 - 01:43PM JST

It's stupid for an entertainer to get political during a show

Says who? She was not touching on a political issue, but a socio-humanitarian issue. And I applaud her for that. As a hugely popular entertainer world wide she can afford to do that. If anything was stupid it was the booing of the uneducated masses in a former behind-the-iron-curtain country which has still a long way to go to becoming a part of Europe where discrimination is frowned upon. The existing problems with the nomadic Romas in Europe do not stem from their way of life, but from the way they have been treated for ages.
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bgaudryAug. 28, 2009 - 02:20PM JST

Once on a visit to Hungary I stayed with a gypsy family for a week. They were great and made me really welcome. After I'd got on the train after saying my goodbyes I noticed that they'd taken my wallet!!!

BTW, people going to a u2 concert expect some of Bono's speeches/etc, Madonna is not really known for her activism and as such I'd be pissed if she starting spouting that kinda crap.
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presto345Aug. 28, 2009 - 02:38PM JST

I'd be pissed if she starting spouting that kinda crap

Your choice of words tells me a lot. I do wonder though how you imagine the Romas must have felt, how much they have been 'pissed' through the ages when they were not treated as human beings.
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lostrune2Aug. 28, 2009 - 08:37PM JST

Interesting... If Madonna had spoken about the plight of the Darfur people, would people complain? How about if Bob Hope spoke about the discrimination of African-Americans during his USO tours?
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romarcela62Aug. 28, 2009 - 09:57PM JST

I think a well known person like Madonna would have been more responsible to her audience when she makes public statements. After all, we paid to see a show, not to be admonished regarding an issue she doesn't know at all. Her staff didn't advice her properly. Or may be they did! They know very well that every single public word of her is instantly worldwide spread. They know very well the audience reacts in a certain way to a bad show spiced with general racist remarks. So, were we incited to react like uncivilized people in order to show how brave is Madonna performing in East Europe? Let's see: in Belgrade she was threatened, in Bucharest she was booed, in Sofia... who knows? Oh, God, what a cheap marketing strategy!
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johnbubkusAug. 30, 2009 - 07:24AM JST

Madonna is of Italian gypsy origin and this is why she "cared" about the issue. But only at a finger's distance (as she put it, the issue was "brought to her attention" so she can have an easy excuse if needed to)

Plus, even she does not like her origins and had worked all her life to becomes something else, whatever that is...
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elbudamexicanoAug. 30, 2009 - 08:36AM JST

Kudos to Madonna! I am proud of her. She can be of any origin, but it takes a lot of guts to talk about these issues! Keep up the good work Madonna, and just like U2! They do care about the world! So I love them!