Today in Madonna History: June 10, 2019

June 10, 2026 By Jay in 2019, June Tags: Gay, Gay Rights, LGBT, LGBTQ, Madame X, Madonnabilia, Merchandise, New York City, Pride, The Trevor Project, World Pride 1 Comment

On Monday June 10 2019, the official Madonna store added the following new Madonnabilia items for sale (available for FIVE days only – so get in there!) in in support/celebration of World Pride 2019:

Limited edition lithograph (hand-numbered poster)
Limited edition t-shirt
Limited edition Pride flag (bundled with the limited edition rainbow Madame X picture disc vinyl)

Here is the message from the official store:

Celebrate your PRIDE and help Madonna support a great cause with the Limited Edition Madame X Crave x World Pride Tee & Digital Download

In Honor of Pride, all of Madonna’s proceeds will go to The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth.

For more information about their life-affirming work, please visit www.thetrevorproject.org.

If you’re thinking about suicide, The Trevor Project is free, confidential and here for you 24/7 – call them at 1-866-488-7386 or text 678-678.

Today in Madonna History: June 5, 2026

June 5, 2026 By Jay in 2026, June Tags: Bring Your Love, Confessions 2, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Confessions on a Dance Floor 2, Get Together, Grindr, Hung Up, I Feel So Free, I Love New York, Keith Haring, Love Sensation, New York City, Pride, Stuart Price, Times Square, TSX Stage 1 Comment

On June 5, 2026, Madonna appeared in headlines around the world following her surprise Grindr Presents: Madonna LIVE in New York performance in Times Square.

The June 4 pop-up event was staged at the TSX Stage in Times Square and helped launch Pride Month with a live celebration of Madonna’s upcoming Confessions II album, while also revisiting songs from 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor.

The performance was widely celebrated in the media, with major outlets covering Madonna’s Pride Month return to New York:

“Madonna Kicks Off Pride Month With a Surprise Times Square Performance” — Vogue

“Madonna Turns Times Square into Night Club, Previews New Album to Kick Off Pride Month at Surprise Concert: ‘C’mon, Gays!’” — People

“Madonna Performs a Surprise Times Square Concert in Custom Dolce & Gabbana” — Harper’s Bazaar

Madonna performed the following songs:

I Feel So Free
Bring Your Love
Love Sensation
Get Together
I Love New York
Hung Up

The performance featured new music from Confessions II, including Love Sensation, and celebrated Pride Month with visuals honouring LGBTQ+ icons including Marsha P. Johnson, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Before leaving the stage, Madonna shouted to the crowd: “Thank you for coming, I love you, happy Pride!”

Today In Madonna History: August 2, 1985

August 2, 2025 By Jay in 1985, August Tags: A Certain Sacrifice, Angie Smit, Breakfast Club, Jeremy Pattnosh, New York City, Otto Von Wernherr, Stephen Jon Lewicki 1 Comment

On August 2 1985, Madonna lost a court battle against director Stephen Jon Lewicki over the video release of A Certain Sacrifice. The low-budget indie film starring Jeremy Pattnosh and Madonna was shot sporadically over a two-year period in New York City between 1979 and 1981. The film also featured Madonna’s former Breakfast Club bandmate Angie Smit in a minor role.

Madonna was said to have been unhappy with the inclusion of several topless scenes in the film, although it has also been reported that despite instigating the court case, her lawyers did not present much of an argument during the proceedings, leading some to speculate that she had no serious interest in blocking the release of the film. After a limited number of screenings in New York in October 1985, the film was quickly issued on home video and laserdisc in order to capitalize on Madonna’s fame. In more recent years, the film has been reissued on DVD.

Lewicki was not the only person attached to the film who was attempting to hitch a ride on Madonna’s wave of success in the mid 1980’s. While it is unclear whether he was involved as an extra or behind the scenes, top Madonna mooch Otto Von Wernherr is also thanked in the film’s credits. It does not appear that any of his music was used in the film, which for once is actually unfortunate because Von Wernherr’s songs would have sounded right at home alongside the truly bizarre musical selections, including several by Pattnosh, that are showcased throughout A Certain Sacrifice. Perhaps it was Lewicki’s fringe fetish that ruled out the possibility of using any of Madonna’s pre-Warner tunes in the film?

Today in Madonna History: August 6, 1987

August 6, 2024 By Jay in 1987, August Tags: New York City, Premiere, Times Square, Who's That Girl (Film) 1 Comment

On August 6 1987, Madonna attended the Who’s That Girl premiere at the National Theatre in New York City. Prior to the screening of the film, Madonna spoke briefly to a massive crowd in Times Square.

Today in Madonna History: June 11, 1985

June 11, 2024 By Jay in 1985, June Tags: Madison Square Gardens, New York, New York City, The Virgin Tour 1 Comment

On June 11 1985, Madonna ended The Virgin Tour with a sold-out concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Today in Madonna History: June 7, 2019

June 7, 2024 By Jay in 2019, June Tags: Cyndi Lauper, Dark Ballet, Emmanuel Adjei, Grace Jones, Joan Of Arc, Madame X, Met Gala, Music Video, Mykki Blanco, New York City, Stonewall, World Pride 1 Comment

On June 7 2019, Gay Times published a review of Madonna’s Dark Ballet music video:

Madonna has released her powerful music video for new single Dark Ballet.

The song, which the Queen of Pop first teased during her Met Gala performance in 2018, is the final track to be released ahead of her highly-anticipated 14th studio album Madame X, which is due out on Friday 14 June.

“They are so naive, they think we are not aware of their crimes. We know, but we are just not ready to act. The storm isn’t in the air, it’s inside of us,” she declares on the experimental track, which also samples the Nutcracker in its autotune-laden bridge.

Queer rapper Mykki Blanco stars in the Emmanuel Adjei-directed video as Joan of Arc, who was famously burned at the stake following numerous charges including cross-dressing – a scene which is powerfully recreated in the clip.

“They judged her. They said she was a man, they said she was a lesbian, they said she was a witch, and, in the end, they burned her at the stake, and she feared nothing. I admire that,” Madonna says of Joan, the inspiration for the video.

The video also begins with a quote from Joan, and ends with a quote from Mykki, which reads: “I have walked this earth, black, queer and HIV positive, but no transgression against me has been as powerful as the hope I hold within.”

After months of speculation, Madonna has been confirmed as the headliner of WorldPride 2019 in New York City.

On 30 June, the Queen of Pop will perform at the Hudson River Park Pier 97 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, alongside several other legendary acts such as Cyndi Lauper, Ciara and Grace Jones.