Philanthropy and activism of Madonna

During the height of her fame, reviewers from academic Douglas Kellner to journalist Matt Cain have remarked on how she helped bring some social concerns into the mainstream in her generation.

[26][27] Madonna has remembered World AIDS Days multiple times; during the 2015 Rebel Heart Tour she dedicated a performance and speech honoring survivors and victims.

[29] Madonna allowed her B-side song "Supernatural" to appear in the AIDS charity album Red Hot + Dance (1992), with a remix provided by Sly and Robbie.

[40] After her stop on the 2016 Rebel Heart Tour in Philippines, she visited the Bahay Tuluyan Foundation, a center that provides shelter for orphans and street children and also the Hospicio de San Jose.

[54][55] As part of her fundraising efforts for Hurricane Sandy victims, Madonna exposed her buttocks during a MDNA Tour concert to encourage her audience to throw money at the stage.

By the early 1990s, academic Douglas Kellner in Oh Fashion (1994), describes her as becoming "political" making "statements on behalf of AIDS victims, the homeless, saving the rain forests, and women's rights".

[95] During her Rebel Heart Tour that year, Madonna paid tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks by Islamists, and gave an impromptu performance at Place de la République singing acoustic versions of her songs "Ghosttown", "Like a Prayer", and a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine".

[96][97] Christopher Bergland, said of the performance, "the fact one of the most famous people in the world, has the balls to sing... publicly on a street corner in Paris... should be inspiration to all of us to keep doing what we love to do".

[100] By 2022, Madonna had joined the digital campaign led by Global Citizen called "Stand Up for Ukraine", which appealed for donations and other forms of support to those affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War.

[121] In May 2022, she shared a lengthy post after the Texas shooting at the Robb Elementary School demanding a "Gun Reform" from lawmakers, calling out to the National Rifle Association.

[119] According to Lucy O'Brien, Madonna inherited the sense of justice and inclusive politics from her Italian paternal grandfather Gaetano Ciccone, who assisted in organizing a brief but "crippling strike" at the Aliquippa mill in the summer of 1937 which resulted in an improvement in the lives of the workers.

Professor Chris Rojek at Brunel University wrote in Fame Attack (2012), "Madonna matches every dollar raised through corporate, community and academic support".

[148] Others objected the direction of her efforts; for instance, Kat Stoeffel from The Cut was scathing about her supporting manner for activist Malala Yousafzai and her politically charged agenda in 2012 during the MDNA Tour as noted in her article titled "Madonna is ruining all my favorite causes".

[151] In early 2010s, editors Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas had conflicting opinions, stating that her "political activism" provides "disenfranchised groups with empowering identifications" but they also categorized it as cultural industry.

[152] During her speech at the 2017 Women's March, Madonna drawn controversy after saying the word "fuck you" three times, and also for declaring: "Yes I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House, but I know that this won’t change anything.

[161] Nicole Hensley of New York Daily News commented, "The Material Girl has a history of pushing sexually suggestive motifs to encourage young people to complete their civic duty".

[162] Her sexual image, along with her affiliation and activism for the LGBT community and the AIDS epidemic, caused "many people" including her ex husband Sean Penn, to believe she was HIV-positive herself.

[165] Roger Friedman referred after citing her Instagram posts regarding the COVID-19 lockdowns during a so-called misinformation era but he sympathized with her saying "it's easy to make fun of Madonna [...] But kudos and thanks for the Gates contribution".

[63] From another scenario, The Advocate's Neal Broverman recalls a post about gun control in April 2021 that received "mixed" reactions from her followers, with one user calling her an "out-of-touch millionaire who has no right to an opinion on the matter".

[176] Meanwhile, Madonna hired consulting firm Global Philanthropy Group to manage its operations that still working together by 2017,[4] and with buildOn they were able to aid Raising Malawi with a new path, which included the development of smaller schools.

In the report, child psychologist Kevin Browne granted to the Madonna-style process, a closely rise in the number of children in orphanages across Europe, following adoptions made overseas rather than local.

[182][187][188] As both Madonna and Angelina Jolie were credited with popularizing celebrity adoptions in the early decade of the twenty-first century,[189] some reviewers compared their philanthropic efforts because both received criticism.

[33] By January 2023, Ethiopian World Federation accused Madonna of possible "human trafficking and social experiments", citing as proof her public behavior and photos of his son Banda recreating one of her outfit.

[192] On the view from Karin Wilkins in Communicating Gender and Advocating Accountability in Global Development (2016), she has been referred "frequently" as "Saint Madonna of Malawi" or "a gift from heaven".

[201] In 2014, Christopher Rosa from VH1 stated that many celebrities endorse now-popular opinions of some matters that it can "proudly express themselves without general fear of judgment", but he believed she was advocating for the same rights in a period when were relatively "unpopular".

[202] In Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination (2020), professors notes she is a self-proclaimed "Unapologetic Bitch", but uses her voice directly and forcefully to shock and therefore draw attention to her message.

[204] Juan José Roldán, writing for El Correo de Andalucía in 2020, was generally positive saying that "few" such as Madonna, have been so "brave" and "daring" in the face of repeated injustices.

[205] Writing for The New York Times in 2023, Mary Gabriel felt that some criticisms are centered in her image as a pop star and/or a gender bias, dismissing her political statements as "opportunistic grandstanding".

[208] British journalist Matt Cain similarly states she helped "broke down social barriers" by connecting "diversity" by producing multiple works that has brought marginalized groups to the fore to her large audience.

[209] "Bringing people together to celebrate liberation, equality and diversity is an essential aspect of Madonna's worldwide view", commented biographer Carol Gnojewski.