Madonna Issues Apology for Posting Altered Photos of MLK, Nelson Mandela

Madonna/Rebel Hearts
Madonna/Rebel Hearts
Kipp Jones
Los Angeles, CA

Madonna issued an apology on her Facebook page late Friday night, just hours after she came under fire for posting several altered images of civil rights leaders to social media in order to promote her new album.

“The Queen of Pop” originally posted photos of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and others, with string superimposed over their faces, in resemblance to her own image on the cover of the record, which is titled Rebel Hearts.

The statement from Madonna, which was posted to her official Facebook page, read:

I’m sorry

I’m not comparing my self to anyone

I’m admiring and acknowledging there Rebel Hearts

This is niether a crime or an insult or racist!

I also did it with Michael jaclson and frida khalo and marilyn monroe

Am I saying I am them

NO

I’m saying they are Rebel Hearts too.

And

I didn’t do it

My fans did

And I just re posted those photos

My fans aren’t racist either

If they put me in the same category as these other people

Thank you. I’m very flattered and I hope one day to live up to 1 100th of what those people accomplished.

The apology comes in response to criticism regarding her original posts, which featured photos of the departed civil rights leaders, reading:

This❤️#rebelheart fought for freedom! pic.twitter.com/7OxGT28TuY

— Madonna (@Madonna) January 2, 2015

This ❤️#rebelheart had a dream! pic.twitter.com/PIwcwosS2G

— Madonna (@Madonna) January 2, 2015

The album cover, and subsequent photos of her fellow “rebel hearts,” has since gone viral in the form of Internet memes, with some Twitter users posting altered photos of other icons using the same template. The singer has also apparently refused to back down in the face of disapproval over the posts. Saturday morning she posted new photos of French heroine Joan of Arc and the late Princess Diana, who she also believes had #rebelhearts:

The singer previously rushed the release of six tracks from the album Rebel Hearts, after unfinished demos were leaked online.

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