Another day, another controversy involving a Madonna show.
This time the Ray of Light singer has been panned by her fans for brandishing a fake firearm during her show in Denver on Thursday night.
Punters believed that Madonna’s actions were insensitive given the shootings that took place in nearby Aurora, Colorado at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in July.
The AP and NME report that several fans left the show after being offended by Madonna’s performance on her track Gang Bang. The singer pretended to shoot a criminal while images of splattered blood were displayed on the stage backdrop.
Fan Aaron Fransua told AP: “We all just stood there. Everybody who was around me all had shock on the face. I heard a lot of ‘wows’.”
Local radio presenter Pete Burns said he could “hear people talking about it and it was a little bit unsettling. I saw two or three people get up and grab their stuff and actually leave their seats.”
Madonna’s publicist Liz Rosenberg defended the singer’s actions, saying it would be unthinkable to drop the gun stunt from the show.
“It’s like taking out the third act of Hamlet. Madonna does not make things pretty and tie them up with a bow.”
This isn’t the first time Madonna has got under people’s skin for the gun segment in her current live show. In July, Scottish Police asked her not to use fake guns on stage during a show in the country. Madonna snubbed their requests and performed with an imitation pistol and AK47 assault rifle.
