Miami Beach, Florida: Madonna kissed Ariana Grande, repeatedly criticised President elect Donald Trump and said she was ashamed to be an American in a magnetic performance in Miami on Friday night where she raised more than $7.5 million for the African nation of Malawi.
The Material Girl dug deep into her personal treasures, auctioning off pieces from her own art collection, a costume from her tour modeled by Grande and black and white photos from her 1985 wedding to ex-husband Sean Penn shot by the late photographer Herb Ritts. The trio of wedding photos sold for $230,000.
Penn, who attended the fundraiser and bid on several pricey items when the auction stalled, handcuffed Madonna and crawled through her legs as the two tried to coerce the audience to bid higher. “For once, he’s not the one being arrested,” she joked.
The party lasted until early Saturday morning when Madonna took the stage for an hour-long performance before a star studded crowd that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, James Corden, ex-boyfriend A-Rod and Courtney Love. The fundraiser was just one of the many parties during Art Basel Miami Beach, a contemporary art fair.
Madonna, who performed in a pink sequined clown top and fishnet stockings, seemed to hold nothing back, especially her opinions on the election, joking with the audience that she had promised to perform sexual favors for those who voted for Hillary. She coyly said she’d been in Donald Trump’s bed, but later revealed it was for a magazine photo shoot and that Trump wasn’t even there — and she criticised his cheap sheets.
“They won’t be Egyptian cotton because we all know how he feels about Muslims don’t we,” she said as some audience members gasped.
She gyrated to a slowed-down version of Britney Spears’ Toxic and seductively sang, “You know that you’re toxic,” as images of Trump appeared on a large screen behind her.
At one point, she walked into the audience, climbing on tables and giving one man a lap dance. She abruptly stood up at another point, grabbed the chair, on which she had performed and said she also wanted to auction it, noting $600 could send a girl in Malawi to secondary school and $2,000 would cover her university expenses. The chair sold for $10,000.
