Madonna responds to VMAs backlash: Didn't intend to do a tribute to Aretha Franklin

At the MTV Video Music Awards, during her introduction for Video of the Year Award, Madonna gave a five-minute long tribute to honour the late Aretha Franklin . However, many Twitter users called her speech  disrespectful as it focused more on her rather than the Queen of Soul. Madonna responded to the outrage through an Instagram post on 21 August. Explaining her side of the story, the singer said that her speech was never a tribute to Franklin, who died at 76 due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type.

During her speech, Madonna talked about the origins of her career, how she auditioned with Franklin’s ’(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman’. Though the audition was unsuccessful, she spoke about the influence Franklin had on her career. By the end of her speech, she said,“I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. Respect. Long live the queen,” which was met with mixed reactions.