Singer and actress Madonna has spoken out against critics of her appearance after presenting an Award at the Grammy’s on Sunday night.
In her latest Instagram post, the multi-award-winning singer lamented being “caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in,” after a close-up photo of her face went viral online and sparked a torrent of negative comments.
Madonna’s Instagram page was flooded with comments calling her scary, unrecognizable and denouncing her supposed “obsession with plastic surgery” though the singer has never publicly addressed rumors of cosmetic enhancements.
British television host Piers Morgan, who is often criticized for making hateful and sexist comments, dedicated a segment to the viral photo on his Talk TV show, “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
The 64-year-old musician clapped back at the remarks, saying in her Instagram post that the world “refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45.”
Being thrown into the spotlight over a controversial look is familiar territory for Madonna.
But the singer, who famously wore a satin slip dress in the 1989 music video for “Like a Prayer” has seemingly never been deterred by public opinion.
Madonna continued “I have never apologized for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start,” she wrote in the post.
“I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come.”
Writing by Tersoo Nicholas