As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple the entertainment industry, Madonna has taken to Instagram to share her thoughts on the matter. In a bizarre video, Madonna calls coronavirus “the great equalizer” of the rich and the poor while she sits naked in a white ivory bathtub, surrounded by flower petals and dozens of candles.
If it didn’t sound like it already, Madonna’s video sermon is decidedly unexpected, if not outright tone-deaf. She fluctuates between looking at the camera and staring deep into the soapy water while the person filming moves around her. Meanwhile, ominous music plays in the background. The whole thing feels like a wealthy subdivision of r/showerthoughts come to life.
“That’s the thing about COVID-19,” she says in the clip. “It doesn’t care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell. It’s the great equalizer and what’s terrible about it is what’s great about it. What’s terrible about it is that it’s made us all equal in many ways, and what’s wonderful about it is that it’s made us all equal in many ways. Like I used to say at the end of ‘Human Nature’ every night, if the ship goes down, we’re all going down together.”
Fans were quick to call her “privileged” in the comments section, and rightfully so. Madonna is one of the world’s richest musicians. She’s an artist who could cancel a massive tour in support of her 2019 album Madame X due to coronavirus concerns and not go into financial ruin as a result. Mind you, this is a tour that already treated its own paying attendees poorly by being littered with delays that led to fans filing a class action lawsuit against the singer for her late start times. We may all be equally susceptible to COVID-19, but the obvious prioritizing of the wealthy over the poor in terms of access to testing, nevermind wealthy people’s ability to purchase more goods and skip going into work, is anything but equal.
Check out Madonna’s Instagram video below. The post also includes two photos, one of which features her gazing into the camera with petals covering her nipples that’s captioned, “No discrimination — Covid-19! #quarantine #covid_19 #staysafe.”
Meanwhile, other musicians are actually trying to help those less fortunate than themselves during this pandemic. Rihanna is donating $5 million towards coronavirus relief efforts. Hundreds of musicians are performing live online for fans, too, including Ben Gibbard, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and Erykah Badu. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the options, or don’t know whose concert is coming up, check out our picks for which livestreams to watch.
Madonna Calls Coronavirus “The Great Equalizer” in Weird Bathtub Video: Watch
Nina Corcoran
