Madonna has come under fire for her tribute to Aretha Franklin at last night's VMAs, criticised for talking more about herself than celebrating the life of Aretha.

 

Can't seem to find the full tribute but there's plenty of clips online. I don't think it was a problem that Madonna referred to how Aretha affected her life but I think she would have been better off cutting down the backstory, it just seemed unnecessary to go over that in such detail and you're left wondering whether she'll actually talk about Aretha specifically. I think she struck the balance right with her Michael Jackson tribute back in 2009.

It was on YouTube earlier . She is receiving a lot of hate which is a shame because she was attempting to be sincere.

 

I suppose the main thing I have to question is, she said in depth about the impact Aretha had on her but I'm not sure if I've ever even heard her mention Aretha before?

I had the same reaction, that she spoke too much about herself. Maybe it wasn't meant as a proper tribute since she was mainly presenting an award. Madonna could have done better, but at the same time MTV really could have done better by getting someone to do a proper tribute rather than shoehorning it in at the end.

Madonna posted a picture of her and Camila Cabello at the VMA's last night and has defended herself in the caption:

 

Im with the Winner!! The beautiful @camila_cabello ! So proud of her! 🌈💕🎉. And just to clarify: I was asked to present video of the year by MTV! And then they asked me to share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin! I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her! That would be impossible in 2 minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show. I could never do her justice in this context or environment.

Unfortunately most people have short attention spans, and are so quick to judge. I love Aretha! R.E.S.P.E.C.T. 🙏🏼. I Love Camilla! Congrats! I LOVE my dress! AND. I love-L O V E!! ♥️ and there is nothing anyone can say or do that will change that. #vmas #postivevibes

I think a lot of people, in amongst all the criticism, expected this to be how it went. As Riser said, Madonna could have done better herself but MTV definitely should have done better. I get it was a last minute addition but I think even a short montage or something would have sufficed.