The 'Like a Virgin' hitmaker reveals she was ordered to pay $1 million fine for publicly declaring her support for LGBTQ+ community in Russia during her tour stop.
- Jul 21, 2020
AceShowbiz - Madonna claims to owe the Russian government $1 million (£800,000) for publicly supporting LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
Although the Russian government decriminalised homosexuality decades ago, the country has remained socially conservative and, in 2012, the Moscow city government ordered that gay pride parades be banned for the next 100 years.
Following the passing of the legislation, the star visited the country on her The MDNA Tour and, during a 9 August 2012 show in St. Petersburg, she delivered a moving speech, praising love and freedom and comparing LGBTQ+ fights to the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
The "Vogue "hitmaker added that gay people should be treated with love and dignity, insisting religion shouldn't be used to promote hate or discrimination towards any group.
While at the time it was reported that Madonna was to be fined $17,000 (£13,500) over the incident, she took to social media on Monday (20Jul20) to reveal it was actually a much higher amount.
Sharing a clip from the concert and revealing the fine, she wrote, "I made this speech at a concert in St. Petersburg 8 years ago. I was fined 1 million dollars by The government for supporting the Gay community."
"I never paid," Madonna insisted, alongside the hashtags "#freedomofspeech #powertothepeople #mdna."
Madonna has been a lifelong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and was last year honoured with the GLAAD Advocate for Change Award for her ongoing activism.
