In other Malawi adoption news, David Banda was allowed to visit with his biological father while visiting Malawi this week. Banda seemed not to know who the man was at first, but warmed up to him quickly. While speaking to his father, the little boy expressed that he missed his adopted father, Guy Ritchie, very much.

While there, David was able to visit with his biological father Yohane Banda, but the tot didn’t know who he was.

David and Yohane spent about three hours together – it was the first time since 2006 – but the little boy didn’t recognize his bio father. Yohane was stunned that David didn’t know who he was or that he couldn’t speak his native language.

Yohane said, “He asked me in English who I was and what I do. When I told him, ‘I am your daddy’ he looked surprised. We spent three hours together… he played with my nose and although he did not know who I was he asked me lots of questions.

“David is quite chatty and intelligent. He asked whether I ride horses but I told him horses are for the rich. He asked me why I am poor. He said his mum likes riding horses and told me that one day he and his brother, Rocco, rode horses and fell. He said his mum spanked him because they are not supposed to ride on their own.”

David also told Yohane he misses his nanny, who quit (or fired by Madonna… whichever rumor you believe). “He misses her a lot because she used to read him books. Nowadays he has different nannies and he doesn’t like the situation.”

The three-year-old spoke of his relationship with Guy Ritchie.

“He seems to like his daddy Mr. Ritchie so much,” said Yohana. “I was a sad Madonna broke up with him. I would have loved it if they sorted out whatever problems they had instead of divorcing because divorce is bad for kids.”

[From Showbizspy.com]

Wow! That’s a lot of very interesting information. First, who would have thought that Madonna would spank her kids? Isn’t she supposed to be so spiritual and peaceful and non-violent thanks to Kabbalah? And also, wouldn’t you think she’d just get the nanny to do it? And speaking of nannies – it’s quite telling that the two people David misses are his nanny and Guy Ritchie. Before the divorce, these were probably the two people he saw the most. It’s also interesting that Madonna has made absolutely no effort to teach David anything about the country he came from, or to give the child any background on himself. He didn’t even know his own father, and he didn’t understand why his father was poor.

If you believe the rumors, working for Madonna is a special kind of hell. She’s a control freak who demands her employees to be on call at all hours to satisfy her every whim. So you can imagine the nightmare of being the person responsible for Madonna’s kids. The Daily Mail is reporting that Madonna’s nanny gave her notice when she heard that Madge would be adopting another child – but didn’t get to finish her notice, because her employer told her to get out immediately.

The nanny in sole charge of Madonna’s adopted son David Banda has left suddenly – despite plans for the star to adopt another baby from Malawi.

It was revealed yesterday that the nanny, an Australian called Angela, had handed in her notice, only to be told by the 50-year-old singer to leave before the notice period was complete.

A source said: ‘Angela is distraught. Madonna told her the news two hours before she was due to go on her annual month-long leave.

‘Angela was incredibly upset and very surprised because she had been told that Madonna is due to adopt a second baby from Malawi very soon.’

It is understood that Angela, who was working for Madonna in New York, handed in her notice earlier this month.

‘The rumour is that Madonna was furious that Angela was leaving and dismissed her before she had the chance to complete her full notice,’ a source who works closely with the singer said last night.

‘All Madonna’s employees work incredibly long hours, so it’s no surprise that Angela had had enough. If you work for Madonna you are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There’s no such thing as a weekend.’

The timing could not be more inconvenient for Madonna, who confirmed last week that she is planning to return to Malawi in the next couple of months to adopt another child.

Sources say that because of the star’s punishing work schedule she is hugely dependent on a team of carers who look after her three children – Lourdes, Rocco and David, whom she adopted in Malawi two years ago.

According to her aides, a personal assistant will be sent there next month to select a baby and ensure the official documentation is in place.

[From The Daily Mail]

Whoa, whoa – wait a minute. Madonna is sending an assistant to “select a baby?” WTF? She can’t even be bothered to choose her own child? What is the point of having another child, then? I’m really starting to believe that the only time Madonna ever interacts with her kids is when the cameras are on her. They’re more like accessories than actual people to her – accessories that she can control and mold and then hand off to an employee as soon as she gets bored and wants to go pretend she’s 21 again. As soon as she’s behind closed doors, she’s probably handing them off to one of her “team of carers” so she can get back to doing bench presses again.

I can’t say I blame the nanny for wanting to leave. If she’s already taking care of David 24/7, she’d have absolutely no life if expected to take care of a new baby, too. But it sounds like she was trying to do the right thing and at least finish out her notice so Madonna could find a suitable replacement. I guess Madonna didn’t care too much about that- she was more concerned with trying to be The Boss Lady. I’m sure the responsibility of caring for David has been shoved off onto another poor employee by now, anyway. The only time we ever see Madonna with him is when she’s carrying him to and from that Kabbalah center. It’s all for show.

David and his nanny are shown playing in the snow in NY on 3/2/09. Credit: Diane Cohen/ Fame Pictures

As we reported yesterday, Guy Ritchie was joyfully reunited with his sons after not seeing them for weeks following the breakup of his marriage to their mother, Madonna. You can see how happy both Guy and Rocco are to see each other in the photos at the Daily Mail. But according to that same publication, the boys were accompanied by a long list of rules to be followed while they were with their dad.

According to a text photo at Daily Mail.com, the following rules were set by Madonna for visitation:

1. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to read newspapers, magazines, or watch TV or DVDs

2. They must adhere at all times to a macrobiotic, vegetarian, organic diet with no processed or refined food

3. All water they drink, even when it is to dilute organic juice, should be Kabbalah water

4. They should wear only the clothes Madonna has sent with them, if they need to be bought anything new, it should not contain any man-made materials

5. The boys’ hands should be regularly cleaned with disinfectant spray if they are in public places

6. They should not be bought toys that are spiritually or ethically unsound

7. The divorce should not be discussed with them

8. Madonna should have contact by phone with them when and how often she chooses, as often as three or four times a day at times she sets

9. Guy should not introduce the boys to any of his new friends, especially any new female friends

10. Madonna wants the boys to spend their time she’s given with Guy, and not large amounts of time with his parents, their grandparents

11. The boys should not be photographed when they are with Guy and it’s his responsibility to arrange security so it doesn’t happen

12. At bedtime, Guy should read Madonna’s English Rose books to David

I’m sending transcendental encouragement to Guy Ritchie for a long movie night, with delivery pizza, soda pop, friends and grandparents and the phones shut off. And a permanent ban on the English Rose series from the home.

The more I read this list of rules I imagine safety-pinned to Rocco’s shirt, the more incredulous I become. Would Madonna really expect more of Guy than she does herself? And does she really believe she still has control over the time the boys spend with their father? Then I think about those questions and I realize that yes, she probably would and probably does. It’s a long standing tradition that parents who are no longer together have a power struggle when it comes to how the kids will be raised when they are in the custody of the other. Watch any divorce based movie. I just watched The Squid and the Whale, a perfect example, and a depressing movie. The kids suffer way more than the parents when a battle for the parental upperhand occurs.

Guy Ritchie is shown outside his Punchbowl Pub on 11/7/08. Madonna and Rocco are shown outside the Kabbalah Centre in LA on 11/8/08. Credit: WENN

More fallout from the Guy Ritchie/Madonna divorce. Us Weekly is reporting that the father of the Malawi boy the couple adopted, David Banda, wants his boy back. As news hit that Ritchie was never supportive of the adoption in the first place, the tabloid claims that David’s father is wondering aloud if his son is going to get caught up in the acrimony.

In light of Madonna’s divorce from Guy Ritchie, David Banda’s biological father is having second thoughts about giving his son up.

“I am still a poor farmer with nothing to offer, but maybe he’d be better off back with us,” he told Britain’s The Sun.

“This woman, Madonna, told me herself that David was beautiful and made her happy and she promised to take care of him,” Yohane Banda added. “Now I see him in a big bewildering crowd in the street with people pushing and shoving, and many cameras around, and without a mother and father to hold his hand. I’m feeling bad for him.”

Since Madonna adopted David in Malawi in 2006, David’s biological dad has moved into a thatched hut with his new wife, their three-year-old daughter and their seven-month-old son.

“I have the joy of a new family and I even have a new son,” he told The Sun. “But now, when I think of David in danger of living outside a family life, I find it unbearable.”

From Us Weekly

However, an interview with Australian Sun Herald published last Friday reports the contrary. In this interview, David’s father says he hopes Madonna will keep David because she has given him a much better life than he ever could.

THE biological father of the Malawian toddler adopted by US singer Madonna and her British film director Guy Ritchie says he is shocked at news of their divorce but wants her to keep the child.

“I am shocked but not too sad. I only met Madonna and her husband once in court when we were signing the first documents for adoption in 2006,” Yohane Banda said by telephone from his village of Mchinji, 110 kilometres from the capital Lilongwe.

“As I have always said, Madonna loves the child, and I want to encourage her to keep loving the boy despite the divorce,” he said.

“I allowed my son to be adopted in order to escape poverty. If he was still here, he could have probably died,” he said.

[From the Australian Sun Herald]

This rumor about David has been buzzing around since the divorce announcement last week. It’s hard to say how this will play out. Madonna did sidestep some of the adoption procedure to get David, and in this case one of his parents is still alive. But if this second interview is to be believed, David’s father still thinks his son is better off with his adoptive parents, even with the recent divorce situation. Even if it’s true that Guy didn’t support the adoption in the beginning, he does seem to dote on the boy now. He’s been photographed carrying the child around more often than Madonna lately. I think returning David to his father at this point would probably do more harm than good.

David Banda and Madonna are shown outside the Kabbalah Centre on 10/1/08. Credit: Fame Pictures

Remember all those photos of Madonna palling around with fellow American-with-fake-Brit-accent Gwyneth Paltrow this summer? Well, they weren’t just bonding over their love of yoga and money. Apparently, Gwyneth was counseling her friend Madge to work on her marriage to Guy Ritchie instead of throwing in the towel.

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow spent the past few months desperately trying to convince her best friend Madonna not to separate from Guy Ritchie, MailOnline can reveal.

The 36-year-old believes Madonna and Guy, who announced the end of their nearly eight-year marriage today, should remain together for the sake of their three children.

Gwyneth is said to have advised her friend to think long and hard about the effects a divorce from the film director will have on Rocco, eight, adopted David Banda, two, and Lourdes, Madonna’s 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

A source told MailOnline: ‘Gwyneth begged Madonna all summer not to be an idiot and let this marriage fall apart.’

Like Madonna, the Shakespeare In Love star is an American married to an Englishman, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and alternates her time between her homes in London and New York.

Gwyneth is also said to have developed a soft spot for toddler David and would be devastated to lose regular contact with him as well as with her best friend.

The source said: ‘Gwyneth is in love with that little boy and sees him several times a week while she’s in London, and she has as much at stake as anyone in seeing his parents stay together.

‘She just doesn’t think it’s possible that Madonna and Guy would hurt their children by splitting up, and says she has actively advised both of them to put their problems and their egos aside for the sake of the children.

‘But Madonna can be very hard-headed and treats Gwyneth like a younger sister. If Madonna goes through with a divorce it’s going to break Gwyneth’s heart and affect their friendship permanently.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I don’t think I could ever advise anyone to stay together ‘for the sake of the kids.’ If it wasn’t working, the kids aren’t going to benefit from their parents sticking together and making everyone miserable. Anyway, it looks like all that begging and advising didn’t work. Like anyone could tell Madonna what to do in the first place. Something tells me Gwyneth will be there for Madonna no matter what.

In other Madonna divorce news, speculation is already starting about what will happen to the children she and Guy share. Sources are reporting that her oldest child, Lourdes, 12, wants to spend more time with her father, Carlos Leon, in NYC. Carlos is reportedly redecorating Madonna’s NYC apartment- possibly to prepare for Madonna’s return to the states. But where does that leave Rocco, 8, and David, 3? It’s still too soon to say for sure, but I can’t imagine that Madonna will want to separate her sons from their father at such a vulnerable time. Even someone as selfish as Madge would surely do what’s best for them…right?

Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are pictured heading to the gym together in London in April 2008. Gwyneth is shown below looking scruffy out in London yesterday, 10/15/08. Photo credit: Bauergriffin.

Forbes has just released a list of the most powerful celebrity babies, based on media exposure of the last year. Which is a shame, as I was hoping it was based on super powers. Unfortunately, being the child of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt only gives you the beauty gene, not the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Hollywood’s Most Influential Babies

1. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt
2. Suri Cruise
3. Zahara Jolie-Pitt
4. Sean Preston Federline
5. Pax Jolie-Pitt
6. Sam Alexis Woods
7. David Banda Ritchie
8. Dannielynn Birkhead
9(tie). Romeo Beckham
9(tie). Cruz Beckham

Forbes

While Shiloh might have topped the list for media exposure, I’m guessing that in reality Suri is more influential. She’s got the whole cult of Scientology behind her! Head of photo agency World Entertainment News Network Jill Stempel also suggests that Suri is responsible for resuscitating Tom Cruise’s career post-couch jumping, making him more human.

Of course, in twenty years I fully expect these babies to be dating each other and getting arrested in awkward circumstances. As the Hollywood Brat Pack of 2027 I’m sure they’ll all continue to command a big media presence, but I’m not sure whether any of them will be independently successful as someone more famous than their parents. Particularly if Britney drops poor little Sean Preston on his head again. Then again, some people might have suggested that Angelina Jolie wouldn’t ever be more successful than her father John Voight, and she seems to be doing okay for herself.

Malawi is hardcore when it comes to adopting kids. Though there were a lot of accusations flying around about Madonna’s adoption of David Banda – most involving special treatment – the country has been rigid about required follow-ups. Special representatives must visit Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, in England twice, and make recommendations about whether or not the couple should be able to actually adopt David. Even though he’s been living with the family for about a year, the process is far from complete. Apparently the process had hit a snag when Penstone Kilembe, a Malawian official for the courts, was denied permission to travel to London by the Malawian minister of women and child development. Apparently they felt he’d “personalized” the adoption by accepting travel accommodations and money from Madonna. It sounds like they were worried he had been bribed, and just used a nicer word for it. Well it turns out all is well, and Kilembe gets to travel to London after all.

“An official appointed by a Malawi court to assess whether Madonna and her husband would be suitable parents for the child they are seeking to adopt said on Monday he will visit the couple in Britain next month. ‘There has been a change of mind by my government minister and she has allowed me to leave for the UK on September 4 and I am expected to spend two weeks,’ Penstone Kilembe, who had been refused permission to travel to Britain, told Reuters.

“Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie’s attempts to adopt David Banda hit a snag earlier this month when the Malawian minister of women and child development refused to grant Kilembe permission to travel to Britain to assess their suitability. Minister Kate Kainja told a Malawian weekly ‘we feel Mr. Kilembe personalized the whole issue’ and other people could go.

“A Malawi newspaper reported Kilembe was prevented from traveling to Britain because he had accepted a plane ticket and money from Madonna without government approval. Kilembe dismissed the suggestions he asked the pop star for a ticket. ‘What we had with the minister was just a misunderstanding and that has been resolved. Madonna herself has been informed about the new proposed dates because she has been looking forward to this so that her adoption process is not hampered,’ he said.”

[From Reuters]

A lot of adoption and children’s rights groups have said Madonna is using her fame and money to evade Malawi’s adoption laws, which she had always denied. Penstone Kilembe will testify regarding his opinions on Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s parental fitness next year. It’s amazing that a country would go to such great lengths to ensure that one of it’s semi-orphaned children is adopted into a loving home. But something tells me this has more to do with the worldwide scrutiny this case has received. And not many people would consider Madonna to be particularly warm. Hopefully she’s doing this for the right reasons – they’ve certainly made her jump through a lot of hoops. Let’s hope she’s a good mom and gets the kid – and never tries to adopt again.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Madonna Arrives At Her Local Gym on July 21st. You gotta admire her commitment. Images thanks to PR Photos.