Madonna truly has a Rebel Heart. She has historically been unconcerned with creating music that might make people feel uncomfortable, and that seems to be the case even today. In an upcoming interview with Billboard, she gives a blunt response for those who think it's wrong of her to use the word b*tch, which appears in two of her upcoming songs.
"I think that's bullsh*t. The word police can f**k off," she declared. "I don't want to be policed. I'm not interested in political correctness."
She told them that the use of the word must be viewed in context.
"If I say to you, 'I'm a badass bitch,' I'm owning myself, I'm saying, 'I'm strong, I'm tough, and don't mess with me.' If I say, 'Why are you being such a bitch to me?,' well, that means something else."
When they pressed her about the power of language and how it can reflect power dynamics and oppression, she told them that action and language shouldn't be conflated.
"Language, and the use of language, is different than one human physically abusing somebody or bullying somebody, or killing somebody because of the color of their skin or their sexual preference or their religious beliefs," she told them. "I don't think the two should get mixed up."
This isn't the only controversy Madge has had to address ahead of her new album. She also got backlash for reposting fan-made images of world leaders' faces wrapped in wire in the Rebel Heart album cover style, but apologized, saying that she never meant to compare herself to them. "I hope one day to live up to 1 100th of what those people accomplished," she wrote.
Rebel Heart, Madonna's thirteenth studio album, is due out March 10. It was preceded by the single "Living For Love," which she just performed at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as a handful of leaked tracks.
