Sticky & Sweet Tour - Madonna's Statements

Madonna's Statements

During the tour, a number of statements made by Madonna faced strong opposition from socio-political leaders. The "Get Stupid" video interlude featured images of disasters throughout the ages along with images of Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe. US Republican presidential candidate John McCain was featured in the segment as well along Hitler and Mugabe. Images of John Lennon, Gandhi and Al Gore are featured towards the end of the video along with US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The video caused an uproar in the political world, especially in McCain's camp. Tucker Bounds, McCain's spokesperson, stated:

"The comparisons are outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive all at the same time It clearly shows that when it comes to supporting Barack Obama, his fellow worldwide celebrities refuse to consider any smear or attack off limits."

At the conclusion of the presidential election, the image of McCain was removed from the video. During her performance at Petco Park, Madonna congratulated Barack Obama, on his historic win for presidency of the United States. Madonna stated, "This is a historical evening. This is a motherfucking important evening and we are lucky to be sharing it with the World This is the beginning of a whole new world. Are you ready?! Are you fucking ready?!" The video screens displayed images of Obama along with the message, "We Won". Madonna also publicly voiced her opposition for Republican Vice Presidential candidate for 2008, Sarah Palin. While performing on the tour, Madonna shouted "Sarah Palin can't come to my party. Sarah Palin can't come to my show. It's nothing personal. Here's the sound of Sarah Palin's husband's snowmobile when it won't start. (followed by a loud screeching noise)." While performing "I Love New York" during the request section, the line "Get off my street" was replaced by Madonna screaming "You know who can get off of my street? Sarah Palin! I'm gonna kick her ass if she don't get off of my street." Then she mocked Palin's accent and told the crowd that she loves her.

During her show at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Madonna dedicated her song "Like a Virgin" to Pope Benedict XVI. She stated, "I'm gonna dedicate this song to the Pope, because, I know he loves me. I am a child of God! And you know what else?...." Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera called the dedication a surprising provocation. During the 2009 leg, at the Bucharest concert in Romania, Madonna began talking about gypsy discrimination in East-European countries. She said that "It has been brought to my attention ... that there is a lot of discrimination against Romanies and Gypsies in general in Eastern Europe. It made me feel very sad." Immediately boos and jeers resounded from the 60,000 crowd. Madonna added that "e don't believe in discrimination we believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone." Although some applauded this statement, many others continued booing when Madonna mentioned discrimination against gay people. Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg issued a statement saying that "Madonna has been touring with a phenomenal troupe of Roma musicians who made her aware of the discrimination toward them in several countries so she felt compelled to make a brief statement, She will not be issuing a further statement." In January 2009, Florin Cioabă, self-proclaimed King of Roma, announced that he wished to present Madonna with a gold plaque to thank the singer for criticising discrimination against the Roma people.