Madonna may have dropped a tidbit or two about her own music while in Venice promoting her new film W.E., but ask about the careers of others at your own peril. Belgian reporter Nicolas Crousse learned as much when he tried to draw a parallel between the film and Madonna’s life.
In W.E., Abbie Cornish‘s character Wally is an obsessed admirer of Wallis Simpson (the “W.” of the film’s title) who, in a parallel story over a half-century after the 1930s drama of Simpson and Edward VIII (the “E”), conspires to win a Wallis Simpson heirloom at a Sotheby’s auction. In his interview for Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Crouse asked Madonna if Wally’s fascination with Wallis could be seen as a commentary on the fascination Madonna’s fans (in particular Lady Gaga) have with the Material Girl.
Madonna dismissed the question outright, saying that Wally’s story offered an additional perspective on Wallis Simpson, to complicate what might otherwise be seen as black and white (“tout blanc ou tout noir”). “As for Lady Gaga,” she continued, “I have no comment to make about her obsessions having to do with me because I don’t know whether her behavior is rooted in something deep and meaningful, or superficial,” (per E! Online‘s English translation of her remarks). Madonna’s answer was an expert dodge of both a tangential topic and a potential PR fumble regarding any Gaga news of which she might not be aware. Nevertheless, Gaga can’t be pleased with the nature of the response.
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