Madonna defends ‘disrespectful’ Aretha Franklin tribute at VMAs: ‘I was asked to share an anecdote’

The singer accused VMA viewers of being 'quick to judge'

Madonna has responded to the backlash she received following her tribute to Aretha Franklin at the 2018 VMAs.

The singer, who was accused of being “disrespectful” after delivering a five-minute anecdote about her own career, posted to Instagram stating she was asked to share “any anecdotes” she had connected to the Queen of Soul while presenting the Album of the Year award.

“I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way,” she wrote. “I did not intend to do a tribute to her! That would be impossible in 2 minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show.”

The singer, who turned 60 on the same day Franklin passed away last week, accused viewers of being “quick to judge”.

Viewers expressed their confusion regarding the singer’s attempts to pay tribute to Franklin on social media with some criticised MTV for not finding an artist of colour to honour the Queen of Soul.

Instead of talking about Franklin’s life, as many expected, the Queen of Pop decided to share her own personal journey of how she became a singer.

“Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of my life,” she said, before delving into the story of how one of the icon’s songs had successfully aided her in an audition that launched her career.

The song in question was “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman” which Madonna decided to sing when put on the spot during an audition to become a backing dancer for “a French disco sensation.”

“I could see that they didn’t take me seriously, and why should they?” she continued. “Some skinny-ass white girl is going to come up here and belt out a song by one of the greatest soul singers who ever lived? A capella? I said, ‘Bitch, I’m Madonna.’ No, I didn’t. I didn’t say that. Because I wasn’t Madonna yet. I don’t know who I was.”

Madonna awarded the night’s top prize to Camilla Cabello. You can find a list of the evening’s full winners – including Childish Gambino and Ariana Grande – here.