Why the hell is Madonna adopting from Africa

[LynneSin]

Seriously!

I mean, it was all nice when Angelina Joile did it but no one else was doing it at the time and her first child came from Cambodia, a country where she filmed most of her first Lara Croft movie.

Madonna is being nothing more than a copycat and worse off she's taken advantage of a situation where there is actually a parent still alive but unable to take care of an infant because the mother died at childbirth. Adopting this boy from Malawi is NOT going to change the situation in Africa nor will it make you look humanitarian since we've already 'been there, done that' with Joile's two adoptions. Perhaps Ms. Ciccone, if you really want to make a difference in Africa, donate to the orphanage the potential legal fees you'll have to use to clear up your legal mess AND then return the child. The father has said several time he was not giving the child up when he sent him to the orphanage but only to help find care for the child since the mother was no longer alive to breastfeed. Not only could you walk away saving face but in return you could benefit hundreds of children and not just one.

Africa is not a shopping mall for celebrities to buy new kids. If you want to make a difference - donate money and pressure our politicians to do more to help tackle debt, poverty, and disease that is unfortunately, rampant in Africa.

And Oprah - you can do better than giving this woman a platform to help steal a child away from his father.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

1. Actually, she has a whole organization to do that.

www.raisingmalawi.org

[deucemagnet]

2. On edit - I spoke too soon.

After clicking on Haruka's link, I can see that Madonna is no poseur in the realm of Third World concerns. I do, however, believe that it would be much better for her to use her considerable wealth to make it possible for the father and child to stay together, rather than adopting.

[LynneSin]

3. Exactly

I mean, I know she means well - but this adoption serves no purpose other than for her to say "Hey look at me, I can adopt an african kid too"

[PVnRT]

4. Because she's a flake

Like most celebrities.

[radwriter0555]

7. What's flakey about madonna?

Does she drink, smoke, do drugs, run through men, shoplift, lie, cheat, steal, dance on tables?

Of course not.

She's one of the hardest working people in show business. She was one of the first celebs to even MENTION AIDs and has donated countless millions to scores of other humanity-based charities while not asking for one iota of recognition for doing so.

She's one in a million, and she can't have more kids of her own, so she chose to adopt a child who's father had given him up for adoption to a legitimate orphanage. She's worked for months towards this adoption.

[radwriter0555]

5. She's donated more than 3 million dollars to the local organizations

there to better their ways of life and improve those kids' chances.

She has the ability and the resources to this due to how hard she's worked her entire life.

She's not stealing anyone. She's giving this child -- and a whole village, the opportunity to change their stars. The father was not misinformed or lied to or deceived in any way. Madonna and her team are perhaps some of the most ethical people in show business - or any other business for that matter. She has no need to lie, cheat or steal or take advantage of anyone for any reason.

The father was told he should cash in after the fact. The adoption has been completely legitimate and straight up.

[LynneSin]

8. I'm not questioning her williness to give back to society

but how does adopting a child make it any better? It just comes off as a copycat of what Joile has been doing. And if I were to adopt overseas, perhaps I would look for a child that had neither parent alive

[radwriter0555]

13. They found a number of available children for her to get to know, it wasn't

like she went shopping. Meshing with a child is about personality and bond, and you don't find that with every child you meet. Apparently his personality worked best with her family. To discard him because he has a living father who signed the child off to an orphanage to be adopted wouldn't have been very fair.

You wanted to exclude a child from a chance to change his stars because he has a living parent who gave him to an orphanage? I can't imagine why. Children are children. He's happens to now be one of the luckiest kids alive, I'd say. If the dad had a real clue, he'd see how this is a marvelous opportunity for this kid, and for himself as well. It seems like everyone is a winner in this scenario, including a whole village and every single kid in the Malawi!

[LynneSin]

17. He never signed the child off to be adopted

The mother died soon after the child was born and in Malawi it's not like they can just truck down to the local Megamart and buy formula for the child. I've had a family member who adopted from overseas - just because a child is in an orphanage does not necessarily mean he/she is up for adoption.

[JitterbugPerfume]

6. she is a fading primadona

trying to steal one more spotlight

[radwriter0555]

9. Fading prima donna? Her tour this year is THE highest grossing tour in HISTORY.

I dunno where you get FADING from.

Starting in May 2006, Madonna's Confessions Tour was a concert tour organised to support the album Confessions on a Dance Floor. The tour became the top-grossing tour ever in history by a female artist according to Billboard Magazine, grossing more than US$ 194.8 million with a total of 60 shows and 1.2 million people in paid attendance through North America, Europe, and Japan.<1> This beat out the previous record holder, Cher, with a gross of US$ 192.5 million from her nearly 3 year long Farewell Tour with 273 shows.

Tickets for the tour sold out within minutes of going on sale at many venues in North America and Europe, and new dates were immediately announced - included five new dates at Wembley Arena and new dates in New York, Paris and Los Angeles. Madonna rang up eight sellouts at Wembley Arena beginning Aug. 1, notching the highest Billboard Boxscore gross of 2006 in the process. <3> She grossed more than $80 million for the US shows alone throughout the summer, and it instantly became the highest grossing summer tour of the year 2006. <4>

In particular, NRJ reported that the two French dates sold out within 15 minutes of going on sale, resulting in two shows being added. The two original dates in London sold out almost instantly, and five new shows at Wembley Arena were announced. <5> On April 8th, Madonna sold 30,000 tickets in under 40 minutes in Montreal, breaking a record previously held by U2. On July 9, 2006, 80,000 tickets went on sale for Madonna's Osaka and Tokyo shows. The tickets were sold out in a record five minutes. It will be Madonna's first time touring Japan in 13 years. Fans began waiting in line and calling ticket brokers well in advance of the first day sale date. In order to meet high demand, an additional date was added, September 21, 2006, at the Tokyo Dome. On August 8, 2006, more than 35,000 tickets for the first ever Madonna's concert in Moscow went on sale and, as claimed by show organizers, all were sold out in four days, which could be a new record in that country as all other artists had taken more than 2 weeks to sell out the tickets in the region. However, after many troubles with the concert (venue uncertainty, date change, ticket exchange), and, obviously, huge amount of tickets in the hands of speculators, tickets were on sale at their nominal values until the last minute.<6> As of September 7th, 2006 Madonna had grossed in $170,362,019.00 from her Confessions Tour and sold out nearly all concerts according to Billboard. <7>

The most expensive ticket sold was $3883 for front row at the American Airlines Arena in Miami <8>.

The tour grossed more than $194.75 million with a total of 60 shows and 1.21 million people in paid attendance through North America, Europe, and Japan. <9> Furthermore, it also set the record for the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist in history according to Billboard Magazine. <10>

THEN if you want to talk FADING, we can discuss her ALBUM sales? Wanna?

Cheers!

[PVnRT]

15. Christ, do you work for her, or what?

I take it that since the Rolling Stones still gross big, that they're not washed-up rockers either?

[radwriter0555]

31. I've worked for madonna and the rolling stones... since you asked.

I don't care much for the stone's recent release actually. I prefer their old stuff, even though in recent years I'm more tied into the stone's camp than madge's on a personal level.

It's interesting to note that the current rumor is that Clear Channel made sure her singles didn't receive airplay in the USA due to her loudly proclaimed stance against the Iraq war. It could be true since the rest of the world has gone absolutely bonkers for her album and singles... Clearchannel is a republican supporting corporation.

But I LOVE Confessions on the Dance Floor and so does the rest of the world. It's the best album I've heard from anyone in years. Absolutely brilliant and not for any other reason that SHE did it. She's the talent, she's the star and she's bringing home the bacon on that one, for sure. She's not made up by some guys in suits who dictate... She's the dictator, and she's a tough task master. Tough chick to work for.

I spent most of my life in the music business in different aspects, and it's been good fun. While Madonna remains cutting edge, Mick and the boys just don't have "it" anymore so much, bless their hearts. They're not doing anything new.

While the stones only attract the old fans, you can bet Madge's album and tour racked up millions of new fans.

I'd be banking on Madonna's potential for future earnings before I'd wager on the Stones.

In my professional opinion of course.... :D

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. Yes, and she only does humanitarian work, so she can be in the spotlight.

:eyes:

[radwriter0555]

14. She's been a humanitarian her whole life.

I've seen it, up close and personal.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

16. I know. I was being sarcastic. See the 1st post in the thread. nt

[radwriter0555]

25. yikes, sometimes sarcasm is completely lost in text....

Cheeeeese!

[MrCoffee]

10. All the cool celebrities are doing it.

[Avalux]

12. I'd prefer Madonna help the entire family and keep them all together.

I believe she has donated money to the orphanage, so that's a good thing. But the situation with the father - he doesn't want to lose his child. People have questioned why he'd give his child to the orphanage in the first place, and he did it because no one could feed the child - he can't open a can of formula like we do here. He can't read or write either, so had to rely on others for terms of the adoption.

Madonna may have been good intentioned, but I suspect selfishness is part of all this.

[LynneSin]

18. I so agree

I had a family member who adopted two children from overseas and trust me, they (relatives and the government) made sure that there was no parent whatsoever that was even remotely interested in reclaiming those kids before they could leave the country with them. In fact they got stuck overseas an extra 10 days longer than their expected 3 week stay just to ensure the legalities of the adoption.

It's not uncommon for a parent, especially a single parent, to use the orphanage for a temporary home for their children while they try to find some source of income that would allow them to help raise their own kids. In this case it was a father with a small infant and no mother (died due to Malaria) which left the father at a disadvantage since men can't produce breast milk.

[skygazer]

24. "People have questioned why he'd give his child to the orphanage in the first place"

For the same reason that most people give up children for adoption - because they can't take care of them properly. For pity's sake, the vast majority of children who are adopted have living family members - they're not all orphans. Madonna was looking to adopt a child, not support a family. She does a lot for charity and that's admirable. But to expect anyone who is looking to adopt to support the family that's giving up the child instead of adopting the child is ridiculous. Adoption is a positive solution to a tragic situation.

If the father misunderstood the situation, that certainly needs to be addressed. But this vilification of Madonna is unwarranted - it's not like she purposely chose a child whose father didn't understand the legal ramifications of what he did - the child was selected by an agency.

[Avalux]

29. I am not villifying Madonna.

More times than not, as you've pointed out, giving up a child is a financial decision and it IS tragic. Just too bad Madonna (given her means) didn't choose to keep that family together. I'm sure there were other children who ARE orphans (without living parents) she could adopt.

[Midlodemocrat]

30. That is exactly how I feel. I think she is being opportunistic.

I work in the non profit sector and one of my clients is an enormous non profit working to help the refugees in Darfur.

The celebrities who sit on that board are appalled by her. Angelina Jolie appears to have a genuine interest in doing altruistic works; she was a Goodwill ambassador a long time prior to adopting Maddox.

Madonna just strikes me as a person who would do just about anything to get her name in the paper. Her Sex tour? the bustiers?

[xchrom]

19. madonna is fine in my book.

she works very hard for the causes she cares about.

donates her own money and raises millions more.

after all -- no one is perfect.

[Heidi]

20. I'm adopted.

If I had been forced to wait until politicians were adequately pressured to do something about my situation, or until generous donors decided to help me, I never would have had a loving, safe, healthy home.

My adoptive parents were not looking to save the world when they adopted me and my sister (at ages six and five, respecitvely). They just wanted to help two little girls whom no one else, least of all the state, politicians and donors, was helping. :hi:

[radwriter0555]

26. Same here. Well said.

It's about changing the stars, isn't it?

[skygazer]

21. I don't understand how people can think they know so much about this

People adopt from Africa and other third world countries because they want a child and would like to give a kid a chance who might not otherwise have one. It's a misconception that it's perfectly easy to adopt in this country - it's not. My cousin adopted a child from China because he and his wife had waited years to get a child here in the states. Every time they thought they were close, things fell through.

People, whether they're celebrities or not, have to go through a process which does NOT involve "shopping" for a child - usually there are several children matched up with those parents through an agency and the field is narrowed from there.

The child's father may very well have been confused about what he'd authorized - if so, that's tragic and should be addressed. But to immediately brand someone as a copycat simply because she's trying to give a disadvantaged child a better life is pretty judgmental. I don't understand the hostility - how is it bad to want to adopt? And if the agency matched her up with this kid, it's in no way her fault that the child has a living parent. Most adoptees do, you know. :banghead:

[Heidi]

22. Thank you.

When my parents adopted me when I was six years old, my mother was villified by her outsiders (including her mother-in-law)for "shopping" for two pretty little white girls (and our whiteness _always_ came up in conversations) when she could have been adopting inner-city children or kids from developing nations.

[skygazer]

23. I have so much respect for people who adopt

My daughter had a child at 15 who we put up for adoption. It was an incredibly hard decision but the best decision we could have made. My daughter was able to be a kid again, her daughter gained a wonderful loving family and that family was given the gift they'd always wanted - a child to love and cherish.

To criticise Madonna because she's adopting a child 'with a living relative' is absurd. My granddaughter had dozens of living relatives but we were not in the position to give her what she needed. Neither is David's family. To suggest that she instead support the family is just plain ridiculous - does this mean I should have asked the people who adopted my granddaughter to support MY family?

[Coventina]

27. It's all about hating Madonna.

People who have decided they don't like her will view ANYTHING she does with suspicion at best.

On edit: I really don't understand why she gets such a bad rap even here on DU. She's always been outspoken against Bush. Supported Michael Moore. She was WAY out in front of the AIDS crises, long before it was "cool" to do so. She's very pro-GLBT issues.

I just don't understand why people have this irrational hatred toward her.

[LynneSin]

28. I adore her music - have most of her stuff on CD and/or Vinyl

Just the whole thing seems just weird - that's all

[Coventina]

32. Well, sadly there has been a lot of controversy

over adoptions here in the US.

I remember several years ago there were a couple of cases where adopted kids were taken away from their adopted families because the natural parents either "changed their minds" or a father claimed he hadn't been informed, etc.

I happen to know personally a couple who had their adoptee taken away when the birth mother's family found out that they were Jewish. They brow-beat the mother into suing to get the child back because they didn't want him to "go to hell".

So it can happen here just as easily as Africa.

I think it is really unfair to throw accusations in Madonna's direction when it is already pretty clear that the media is out to trash her most of the time to begin with.

[flamingyouth]

35. That must have been incredibly hard for your family.

I have a good friend who gave birth at age 18 and put her daughter up for adoption as well, and the child is also in an amazingly loving family. I also have a lot of respect for people who adopt. :hug:

[jobycom]

33. Good post. I agree. nt.

[jobycom]

34. Wouldn't that be her business, not ours? Her charitable credentials speak for themselves

she makes the world a better place every chance she gets. I won't blast her just because our sycophantic media decides they can sell commercials by bashing her rather than praising her.