Madonna kissed Ariana Grande, repeatedly criticized
President elect Donald Trump and said she was
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Madonna |
ashamed to be an American in a
magnetic performance in Miami on Friday night where she raised more than $7.5
million for the African nation of Malawi.
The Material Girl dug deep into her personal treasures,
auctioning off pieces from her own art collection, a costume from her tour
modeled by Grande and black and white photos from her 1985 wedding to
ex-husband Sean Penn shot by the late photographer Herb Ritts. The trio of
wedding photos sold for $230,000.
Penn, who attended the fundraiser and bid on several
pricey items when the auction stalled, handcuffed Madonna and crawled through
her legs at one point as the two tried to coerce the audience to bid higher.
"For once, he's not the one being arrested," she
joked.
The party lasted until early Saturday morning when Madonna
took the stage for an hour-long performance before a star studded crowd that
included Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, James Corden,
ex-boyfriend A-Rod and Courtney Love. The fundraiser was just one of the many
parties during Art Basel Miami Beach, a contemporary art fair.
Madonna, who performed in a pink sequined clown top and
fishnet stockings, seemed to hold nothing back, especially her opinions on
the election, joking with the audience that she had promised to perform
sexual favors for those who voted for Hillary.
She coyly said she'd been in Donald Trump's bed, but later
revealed it was for a magazine photo shoot and that Trump wasn't even there -
and she criticized his cheap sheets.
"They won't be Egyptian cotton because we all know
how he feels about Muslims don't we," she said as some audience members
gasped.
She gyrated to a slowed-down version of Britney Spears'
"Toxic" and seductively sang, "You know that you're
toxic," as images of Trump appeared on a large screen behind her.
At one point, she walked into the audience, climbing on
tables and giving one man a lap dance. She abruptly stood up at another
point, grabbed the chair on which she had performed and said she also wanted
to auction it, noting $600 could send a girl in Malawi to secondary school
and $2,000 would cover her university expenses. The chair sold for $10,000.
Other notable items included a Damien Hirst painting, a
private performance by magician David Blaine, who was also at the event, and
a weeklong stay at DiCaprio's home in Palm Springs, which fetched $140,000. A
print by artist Tracey Emin from Madonna's personal art collection, sold for
$550,000.
Madonna adopted her 11-year-old son David from an
orphanage in Malawi more than a decade ago. At the time, she said, "I
didn't know where Malawi was" on the map. David had pneumonia and
malaria. His mother died in childbirth and his siblings were also dead.
He was on hand to introduce his mother, telling audience
members who paid at least $5,000 per plate, "I realize I'm one of the
lucky ones."
The pop star showed videos of Malawi, asking for help to
build a pediatric surgery and intensive care unit at a hospital there. Fifty
percent of the population there is under the age of 15, according to her foundation
Raising Malawi.
The night was punctuated by her sardonic humor, corny
clown jokes, controversial political statements and heartfelt moments about
how much the hospital project means to her. She divulged a few personal
details, lamenting that she was very single and hadn't had sex in a long time
and saying she'd always had a fascination with clowns which she said are
"profoundly misunderstood."
She spoke passionately about the plight of Native
Americans and asked why their land was being destroyed.
"It just really makes me feel ashamed, ashamed to be
an American, ashamed to be a human being really," she said before
launching into "American Life."
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