Madonna's biggest scandal turns 25
A quarter of a century later, YouTube has once again censored the 'Erotica' video clip
When Madonna appeared before the world in 1982, she clearly expressed her intentions: "I want to take over the world." She in a way she had achieved it during the 80s, but it was not until October 2, 1992 that the queen of pop managed to prevent the whole world from talking about anything other than her. That was the day of the release of her fifth studio album, entitled Erotica and accompanied by the video clip of the same title and the book of photographs Sex.
In what was undoubtedly her most ambitious project to date, Madonna displayed a whole catalog of sexual fantasies. Sadomasochism, foot fetishism, bondage, homosexuality of both genders, cross-dressing, interracial sex, threesomes, orgies, sex with the elderly or the staging of a rape. La Ciccone was aware of the risk, but the price she had to pay exceeded all expectations. Television gatherings (including newscasts) and articles on the front page of newspapers and magazines around the world began a campaign against her, proclaiming that she had exceeded all limits and had to be stopped.
The sales and acceptance that until now had all of her works were stopped, and years later Madonna has confessed that she came to believe that it would end her career. Twenty-five years later, her most transgressive work of hers has been recognized, but the world apparently remains unprepared to contemplate it normally. This same year, YouTube removed the video clip of Erotica from her catalog, although it just got it back just for her 25th anniversary.
Knowing the context in which Erotica was published is essential. In 1992 Madonna was together with Michael Jackson the biggest superstar on the planet. The greatest hits album that he had released two years earlier had sold more than 25 million copies (still today it is the best-selling compilation in history), his last film They Give The Hit became a blockbuster in the summer of 1991 and the single he had composed for the soundtrack had reached number one.
The inertia in Madonna's career was one of unstoppable ascent. She just needed a well produced and promoted record to secure many weeks at number one and millions of copies shipped in stores. However, the queen of pop made the riskiest decision so far, almost suicidal.
It is true that she had already warned at the end of 1990 with the sensual clip of Justify my Love. Madonna was censored and she had to release it as a video single, something she had never done before but it worked incredibly well, reaching number one and selling 1.5 million copies.
Erotica went much further. It was the complete opposite of what was expected of a commercial pop album. Starting with the image of Madonna herself. As a dominatrix, with latex, leather, an eye mask, a whip and a gold tooth with the letter D engraved on it. It was the initial of Dita, the alter ego adopted by the singer to personify that sexual universe in which she was the mistress.
The next thing was the sound. Dark, almost underground, with aggressive lyrics interpreted by Madonna almost reciting in whispers and even flirting with hip hop and jazz. And of course because of the high sexual content on which the album revolved. MTV immediately removed it from its grid and has only broadcast it in full 3 times since then, always after midnight.
In Spain the premiere was similar. Nieves Herrero presented a special program in prime time and after the premiere of the video clip (after twelve) there was a debate about whether Madonna had crossed the line. Within the limited promotion that the album had due to the commotion caused, Madonna gave another interview in Spain. To this day she remains the most surreal she has ever conceded. They made it Tuesday and Thirteen, and in it they gave the singer giant panties that she put on Millán Salcedo's head while he hooked himself to her leg simulating a dog during sex.
Once the initial impact was overcome, the consequences came. Erotica and especially Sex alienated a good part of the public. The singer went from being a diva for everyone to a more experimental and adults-only artist. Specifically the most liberal adults, and within these the LGBT community. The singer justified the album in her struggle to break down taboos regarding sex, although years later she declared that she also launched it as a “challenge to those who had considered me a sexy girl but without any talent. I wanted to show them my power ”.
The brutal reaction of the most conservative sectors was about to sink the most powerful woman in the music industry. In 2016, in her speech of thanks after being named Woman of the Year by Billboard, Madonna revived it. “I remember seeing myself on the covers of all the magazines and newspapers. Everything she read was harmful. I became a whore and a witch.
One headline compared me to Satan. At the time Prince was showing his ass and wearing fishnet stockings. But he was a man. It was the first moment that I realized that women do not have the same freedom as them. I was paralyzed and it took me a long time to recover and move forward not only with my career but also with my life.
After a few years of voluntary semi-retirement, Madonna made up lost ground, but the echoes of that scandal still resonate. On the one hand has come the recognition of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which last month included Erotica within its selection of revolutionary works, proclaiming that “even today it continues to be the most audacious expression of female sexuality in the history of music. ”.
YouTube also reactivated the debate before the summer by removing the video clip after years on its pages and without any type of filter for adults. This week and coinciding with the anniversary, he appeared again on Madonna's channel. A fact that shows that Erotica was a work ahead of her time by more than twenty-five years.
