OK, I admit it, I did look at the clip of Madonna falling on her backside at the Brit Awards. But I (sort of) had no choice, as the TV was blaring on in a waiting room …. and I was curious. I already knew about her tumble, because all the freebie commuter papers yesterday morning on the train into central London were full of it – and the headlines were really vitriolic. They more or less said, ‘sad old bint effs up in front of millions.’ Charming! I don’t remember this kind of spite directed at Naomi Campbell (the only similar female faller I can remember) when she famously fell off her Vivienne Westwood platforms years ago. Perhaps that was because we all saw a flash of lithe bum when she did, whereas with Madonna, the idea seems to be that a) no one wants to see her arse because she is over 30 and b) she is too canny to wear that sort of outfit on stage and all we saw was her strange matador capri pants at an odd angle.
I’m not a massive Madonna fan, I found that book Sex very peculiar and her identification with Frieda Kahlo (who seems like a big moanychops to me) a bit tiresome. But I hate seeing a woman (or indeed anyone at all) kicked when they are down. Madonna was not down for very long – she more or less got straight up and began prancing again, and well done to her. But I bet the bruises are smarting today, and not just from her physical injuries. It’s a horrible feeling that there are a lot of people out there in the world who just can’t wait to gloat when something nasty happens to a woman in public. And particularly a woman of a certain age. Shame on them.
Down with