Madonna has become a talking point on social media, after remarks she made about certain fans in a 33-year-old interview went viral.
The pop icon, who celebrated her 66th birthday last week, has been known for speaking her mind over the years, attracting both adoration and controversy for her statements and bold gestures during performances over the decades.
However, one of her interviews with the Washington Post has drawn both disbelief and criticism from a host of X, formerly Twitter, users as comments she made about being approached by fans were highlighted on the social media platform.
While promoting her then-upcoming documentary Truth or Dare, the Michigan native, who was living in New York City when she first shot to global fame in the 1980s, spoke about the privacy she enjoyed after moving to Los Angeles.
The conversation then took a turn when Madonna spoke about some of the "obsessive" individuals who approached her, while unflatteringly describing the appearance of these so-called "fanatics."
What Did Madonna Say?
While speaking with her interviewer, Martha Sherrill, Madonna said: "I don't mind when people come up to me in a restaurant and go, 'God, I think you're great.' I love that. It's the obsessive fanatics whose attention seems very hostile. It's beyond admiration. It's very crazy…"
"Weird mail and just their constant attention," she continued.
"It's always fat people too," she went on. "They are the most unattractive social outcasts, like really overweight girls or guys with lots of acne that follow me around and pester me. It's frightening because not only are they bothering me, but they're horrible to look at too."
Newsweek has contacted a representative of Madonna via email for comment.
The Washington Post posted the interview online in March 2016.
"To celebrate Women's History Month, we're opening up our archives to share interesting profiles of interesting women," the newspaper shared at the time of republishing the article.
Over the years, it appears that the quotes went largely unnoticed until one X user posted a screenshot on the platform this week, alongside the caption: "This Madonna quote from 1991 is one of my all time faves."
As of press time, the post has garnered more than 500,000 views.
Madonna's comments have sparked discussion among X users, one of whom said of her: "Truly one of the most awful popstars, oh wow."
Asked another: "IS THAT BOTTOM QUOTE REAL?? It sounds like something she would actually say so I'm not sure."
Highlighting the article text explaining Madonna's desire for attention, though not constantly, another chimed in that the star is "a true Leo."
Elsewhere in her 1991 interview, Madonna spoke about how she was perceived by the public because of her A-list fame.
"Everyone is attributed one characteristic when you're hugely famous," she said at the time. "That's all you are allowed to have. I'm only seen as this cold, calculating, ambitious b****."
The article concluded with Madonna, who continues to release music and tour, being asked if she was afraid of becoming a has-been.
"Has-been is a phrase that other people use," she responded. "So far, even if I stop now, I will have accomplished so many things. What's a has-been? That was my time. That's what I did... People buy into that has-been stuff because it's the public's need to humiliate performers after they've kept them on a pedestal for long enough."
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