Contained in this post are two women that I feel are the best and worst dressed of the Golden Globes. Not THE worst and best, but definitely two distinct ends of the spectrum., and they actually had some similarities (in color mostly). First up, Madonna in Reem Acra. It was just… bad. The fit was wrong, the bodice seemed like it was a different dress then the skirt, the little cap sleeves were horrid, and Madonna’s styling was awful with the scraggily hair and little fingerless gloves. It was just awful. It was even more awful that she actually won too – that’s the kind of award that validates her exercise in historical revisionism, that validates her ego as a “director”. Ugh. I was just disgusted with the whole thing. But I’ll say something nice: her arms look less gristly. And her face looks better.

Next up, one of my best-dressed of the evening, Evan Rachel Wood. I love her style and her styling. Evan CARES. She puts thought into her red carpet looks, and she has a good eye and she knows what looks good on her body, and all of that shows. Rachel’s dress is Gucci – she’s the face of Gucci. The dress is amazing in itself, and it’s especially great on her. ERW was there because she was nominated for Mildred Pierce – she lost, though. Too bad.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I have been staring at these photos of Madonna – at the London premiere of W.E. last night – and I think I’ve finally figured out all of the pieces. The base is a spaghetti-strapped black gown. Then Madonna added this fire-engine-red fingerless gloves, as some kind of weird homage to Michael Jackson, maybe? And then on top of that, she added the Dolce & Gabbana cape – which really is a CAPE, like Madge is a Couture Super-Hero or something. The cape is the thing on her neck – that’s not a separate ribbon necklace, that’s part of the cape’s tie. So, what do you think of the outfit as a whole? If she had taken off the gloves, I think it would have been interesting. With the gloves, it just looks… odd.

That being said, this is maybe the best Madonna has looked in a while. Her arms are exposed, and I don’t feel like I’m being assaulted by gristle – which just proves that dropping Tracy Anderson as your trainer greatly improves your overall look. Her hair is a good length, and it makes her face look longer, which is good because she was looking so chipmunky and jacked lately. As for her chicken cutlet cheek implants – everything has softened and relaxed, right? Her face looks almost normal!

By the way, Madonna is going to be all over the place this year. She’s going to be at the Globes on Sunday, and who knows? Maybe even at the Oscars if W.E. is up for anything. She’s also going to be releasing a new album in March – she’s already revealed the album name – M.D.N.A.

PS… I’m including a pic of James D’Arcy, the English actor I love. He plays Edward in W.E. He’s incredibly talented and strangely beautiful in that weird English way. I heart him.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Angelina Jolie and Madonna have hated each other for years. Well… maybe “hate” is the wrong word. I personally think that Angelina views Madonna as a wannabe, an annoyance, a try-hard and a dilettante. And I personally think that in 2006, Madonna decided her latest incarnation was going to be as “Angelina Jolie” or some half-hearted, Jolie-esque figure. Madonna decided to focus her efforts in Malawi, where she first “adopted” David, and then Mercy. Incidentally, Madge also did a ton of photo ops for her Malawian charity (Raising Malawi), with the idea that she would build some huge school there, but earlier this year, the charity pulled out after losing millions of dollars, likely because Madge staffed the charity with grifters and con artists. In the long run, Madge’s efforts in Malawi were deeply offensive – she did not follow through on any of her promises, she “adopted” two children by basically bribing and paying off Malawian officials, and she posed for photos. Lots and lots of photos.

Back in 2006-07, Angelina was asked about the Madonna-Malawi situation in an interview. Angelina was quoted as saying, “Madonna knew the situation in Malawi, where (David) was born. It’s a country where there is no real legal framework for adoption. Personally, I prefer to stay on the right side of the law. I would never take a child away from a place where adoption is illegal.” Angelina later retracted (partially) that sentiment, telling People Magazine, “The article included many falsehoods. I said many positive things that were omitted. I feel we must focus on the present and I encourage everyone to be supportive so that every child can adjust nicely to their new home. I have been horrified by the attacks she’s been subjected to. All that should count is the happiness of her little David.” I should also point out that I remember Madonna saying some veiled criticism of Angelina around this time, but I can’t find the quotes right now.

Anyway, as the years have gone by, Madonna and Angelina never seem to be in the same place at the same time, which I tend to think irritates the hell out of Madge. When Madge was married to Guy Ritchie, Guy and Brad were still tight and they would hang out whenever everybody was in London, but Angelina and Madge still never met. This awards season, Madonna’s W.E. is up for some technical and music awards at the Golden Globes, and probably some other awards shows. And Angelina’s In the Land of Blood and Honey is up for the GG Best Foreign Film too. So Madge and Angelina will be at the same awards ceremony at long last. What will happen? Star Magazine claims that if they meet, Angelina is totally going to cut a bitch:

As their films face off in theaters, a battle is brewing between director divas Angelina Jolie and Madonna.

“Angie’s been taking potshots at Madonna every chance she gets,” a source tells Star. Angelina is up in arms because people have been drawing comparisons between her and Madonna – who’s been criticized for such cinematic failures as Swept Away, Body of Evidence and most recently, W.E.

“Angie considers Madonna a nuisance and a distraction from her own work. She’s said Madonna has no talent whatsoever for filmmaking and that W.E. is a big-screen joke.”

But Madonna is taking the high road, trying to foster a friendship with her fellow female director.

“Madonna reached out to Angie, suggesting they get together to discuss moviemaking,” the source explains. “But Angie just didn’t see any upside to meeting up.”

As the Hollywood awards season gets underway, the tension is bound to rise. While W.E. earned two Golden Globe nods, Angelina’s In the Land of Blood and Honey was nominated for the Best foreign language film.

“Angie’s gunning to score big,” the source says. “She doesn’t think Madonna has a chance. But she wants awards – that’s all the validation she needs.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Madonna’s rep told Gossip Cop that the story is “totally fabricated” nonsense, and GC’s “source close to Jolie” says that “there’s been absolutely no tension between her and Madonna – about their movies or otherwise.” I want to think that Madonna isn’t even on Angelina’s radar, but I think Angelina acknowledges Madonna’s existence, and she’ll probably try to actively avoid Madge, like always. It will all depend on how close the Jolie-Pitts are to Madonna’s table, I think.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

I have to admit that Madonna’s promotional tour for W.E. is not what I expected. I was expecting bold fashion choices that would overshadow her fashionista star, Andrea Riseborough, and dominate the style headlines. Madonna has dominated, for sure, but she wasn’t trying to. Andrea’s style is just so hit-or-miss, and her looks vary to such extremes, I don’t think many people are paying attention to her. I also expected Madge to publicize the hell out of W.E., giving interview after deliciously narcissistic interview. Instead, Angelina Jolie and her directoral project have dominated the attention, while Madge only gives limited press. It could be that Madonna is saving all of her juicy interviews for February, when W.E. gets a wider release, but I’m still surprised by Madge’s lack of attention-hogging.

That being said, she’s still talking to some outlets. She gave an interesting interview to People Magazine where she discussed the royal family, how much she liked Duchess Kate, and how glad she is that Prince William is allowed to be more “modern”:

The Duchess can breathe easy: the Material Girl is a fan of Kate Middleton‘s wardrobe.

“She is a lovely girl with a great sense of style,” Madonna told PEOPLE at Sunday’s Cinema Society and Piaget screening of her directorial debut, W.E., in New York. “Her wedding dress by Alexander McQueen was very beautiful.”

Madonna added, “I like her choices. She’s elegant and still knows how to have some fun. I’m a fan of her style.”

Another Royal’s style Madonna appreciates is that of Wallis Simpson — the American divorcée for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the throne of England to marry — the center of W.E., out in limited release on Dec. 9.

“She developed a style and stuck with it whether people were interested or not. I admire her individuality,” said the pop star and avid Royal watcher, who “had an obsession with the royal family starting with Queen Victoria” while living in England in mid 2000s.

As for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Madonna is happy that they get to live a less restricted life.

“The freedom that [Kate] has and the freedom the Royal family has now is nice and is refreshing,” she shared. “It’s too bad that Edward VIII didn’t have that same kind of freedom back in 1937 to make his own decisions and to be the prince of the people, which Prince William is allowed to be. I like how modern they are now.”

[From People]

As a history buff, it strikes me again that Madonna really didn’t do that much research into the politics of the 1930s. I think that Madonna only focused on this idea that Edward/David was deeply in love with Wallis, and people were mean to him and he would have been a good king and Wallis would have been a good queen, if only the British people would have let her. Madonna identifies with Wallis for just that reason – the idea that “people didn’t accept” Wallis, just as they don’t “accept” Madonna. It’s the self-fulfilling martyrdom of the narcissist who deeply believes she is misunderstood. While I’ll admit that Wallis and Edward/David were likely deeply in love, there was so, so much more going on, including Edward’s Nazi sympathies and Wallis’s relationships with other men, one of which might have been a Nazi too.

Also, I don’t understand Madonna’s prattling on about being “modern” – if Prince William had wanted to marry the equivalent of a modern-day Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American with other lovers and fascistic politics, there would be outrage too, and the Queen wouldn’t approve of the marriage today either.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are photos of Madonna at a screening of W.E. at MOMA in NYC last night. I don’t know who designed her outfit – well, I know it wasn’t Stella McCartney – but I think it’s actually a cute outfit. During Madge’s promotion of W.E., I’ve been concentrating on her jacked face too much, and I haven’t been giving Madge enough credit for dressing well. While I don’t think she’s capable of being “age appropriate,” this publicity tour is the closest she’s come. This outfit in particular is super-cute.

So, as the awards season has begun in earnest, do you think Madge is disappointed that W.E. is being consistently overlooked for awards? I think she’s probably disappointed, because Madge thinks everything she does is pure brilliance. On the bright side, W.E. might end up with some Oscar nominations for production design or costumes, so Madge can say that she directed an “Oscar-nominated film.” She’ll like that. Sidenote: I’m pretty sure W.E. is in limited release right now for awards contention, although it might have gotten pushed back?

Meanwhile, it’s time for Madge’s next act. No one really cares about her as a director, but some people still care about her as a pop music performer. Thus, Madge has just signed on to headline the halftime show at the Super Bowl. Ugh.

Madonna will headline the halftime show of the upcoming Super Bowl at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, the NFL and NBC announced Sunday night. The Grammy Award-winning Vogue singer will work with a Cirque du Soleil squad, choreographer Jamie King and Moment Factory for what is sure to be a historical performance in the making.

Last year’s game included performances from The Black Eyed Peas, Slash and Usher. The film W.E. — which Madonna directed, wrote and produced — hits theaters February 3. Fun fact: The 53-year-old Material Girl has past dated jocks including hoops enigma Dennis Rodman, and baseball sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Jose Canseco.

[From Radar]

Ah, she’s doing the halftime show as a way to promote W.E.? Do you think she’ll do a shoutout for her film on stage? Do you think Harvey Weinstein will shell out the big bucks for a W.E. commercial during the Super Bowl?

Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.

Director Guy Ritchie has headed out on the promotional trail for his upcoming project, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, which promises Robert Downey Jr. in drag to the hilt, so to speak. As such, Guy appears in a Q&A with Details to discuss several things irrelevant to the movie at hand, but that’s alright — let’s just leave that business to RDJ to take care of in a few weeks, shall we? Instead, let’s read about Guy admitting to being a major pothead in his young adulthood. See, there’s hope for Miley “Bob” Cyrus after all! Also, there’s the topic of Guy’s former marriage to Madonna:

On His Past As A Brawler: “I haven’t had an altercation for, I don’t know, 15 years? I did go through a truculent period once. I smoked a lot of weed and drank a lot of booze, and when I tried to give them both up, I thought I’d take up street fighting. I came unstuck on a number of occasions. I was just looking for adrenaline. But if someone said something rude to me now, I’d just accept it. It’s an age thing. Extreme violence is for young men. You look like an arse when you’re rolling around on the street at 43 years old.”

On Being A Martial Artist: “Between the ages of 18 and 22, karate was the only thing that I turned to religiously. It’s where I got discipline from. Being screamed at and realizing that the only thing you have to fight against is how much of a puss you are. Now I do Brazilian jujitsu five days a week. It’s like chess for wrestlers. And also, it’s good for old men, because you don’t get your nose pressed in or your joints snapped.”

On The Life Advice He Gives To His Kids: “I don’t. I’m f%#$ing glad no one gave me too much advice. You’ve got to work it out for yourself. What works for me might not work for anyone else. Because everyone told me that to be good at school was important, but for me it wasn’t. So I am anti-school. And I’m anti people putting so much pressure on kids and robbing their childhood by giving them so much homework. I think if kids want to arse around, then they should.”

On Being Married To Madonna: “I don’t know. By the way, I enjoyed my first marriage. It’s definitely not something I regret. The experience was ultimately very positive. I love the kids that came out of it, and I could see no other route to take. But you move on, don’t you? You’re right, I stepped into a soap opera, and I lived in it for quite a long period of my life. I’ll probably be more eloquent on it 10 years from now. When you end up with a lot of the things you set out to chase and find that you’ve stumbled into all sorts of hollow victories, then you become deeply philosophical. I’m quite happy that that experience was accelerated for me. I’m glad I made money, in other words. And I’m glad I got married.”

[From Details]

While it’s easy to take Guy’s words (re: Madonna) out of context, his full statement on his ex-wife is rather diplomatic, don’t you think? Of course, he probably doesn’t want to muddy the waters since they share custody of Rocco and David, and in some regard, Guy probably respects Madge as well. Well, as much as he can respect the woman who made him get an adult circumcision. His words make sense though, for I can certainly understand how being married to one of the most famous (and notoriously eccentric) pop stars in the world could be a shell-shocking experience and a soap opera as a matter of fact. Hell, I still have trouble believing that they were ever married in the first place.

Photos courtesy of Fame

Imagine, just for a moment, the life of Lourdes Leon. Her mother, Madonna, has always been on a Peter Pan sort of mission and, consequently, has refused to age gracefully. This fact is blatantly obvious and evidenced by Madge’s red-carpet getups. Wouldn’t you just die if your mother showed up next to you while wearing this outfit?

If Lourdes herself was freaked out by her mother’s sexy (at age 53) getup, I can definitely emphathize. However, it is possible that Lourdes has been surrounded by Madonna’s ways for so long that it might seem normal to have a mom who dresses this way. Yet she cannot possibly comfortable with Madonna regularly dating dudes in their early 20s and still vaguely trying to pretend that these guys are more than just sexual appendages. Well, the Enquirer has heard from a family friend who says that Lourdes is shame-faced at her mother’s behavior in this regard, and she’s had enough:

Madcap Madonna, who set the stage for outrageous acts like Lady Gaga, has a fierce new critic — her teen daughter Lourdes.

Sources say the 53-year-old superstar, who’s sold more than 210 million albums, has repeatedly embarrassed the 15-year-old by still dressing like she did 30 years ago and dating men young enough to be her daughter’s boyfriend.

“Lourdes is telling pals she wished her mother would change and be more like other moms,” revealed a family friend.

Ever since the Material Girl hit the scene in 1983, she shocked and delighted fans with wild, sex-rated outfits she wore onstage and off. And in 1992, she published a red-hot coffee table book called “Sex.”

“Lourdes loves her mother, and her antics are nothing new, but now that she’s growing up, she doesn’t want anyone to start making fun of her mom and calling her a ‘cougar’” revealed the friend.

“Lourdes also wishes her mother would date men closer to her own age.

Madonna is seeing Brahim Zaibat, a Muslim, French break-dancer — who at 25 is less than half the singer’s age. Prior to Brahim, she was dating a 23-year-old Brazillian model [Jesus Luz] she met at a 2008 photo shoot in Rio de Janeiro.

“Lourdes just wants their lives to be normal sometimes, but her mother never turns it off or tones it down — it’s always ‘Madonna!’” said the friend.

The performer has four children — Lourdes by her ex-boyfriend Carlos Leon; Rocco Ritchie, 11, by ex-husband Guy Ritchie; David Banda, 6, whom she adopted from Malawi (Africa), and Chifundo “Mercy” James, 5, also adopted from Malawi.

The still-popular entertainer, who dearly loves all her children, insists on being herself.

But the sources notes that Lourdes sometimes feels “she is more of a grownup than her mother.”

[From Enquirer, print edition, December 5, 2011]

I’ve always wondered what Lourdes thinks about Madonna dating guys who could literally be her older brother or, in just a couple of years, legitimate love interests for Lourdes herself. It’s probably quite humiliating for Lourdes to acknowledge that her mother is sexing these guys up in the other room while she tries to sleep. I mean, weren’t most of us creeped out just a bit upon realizing, as teenagers, that our parents had sex? And yet we weren’t tortured enough to virtually witness them having sex with partners who were less than half their ages like Lourdes has endured. Yes, she’s got many advantages and privileges to being Madonna’s daughter, but the trade-off in this scenario probably grosses her out completely. Ugh.

As a refresher, here’s Madonna’s latest hot young piece, 23-year-old Brahim (who hilariously wants to make an honest woman of her), as they leave a restaurant together and also walk through the airport with Madonna’s four (other) children. Poor Lourdes.

Photos courtesy of Fame and PCN

Madonna covers Harper’s Bazaar in her usual decadent manner. That is, the camera points at Madge, who is in turn pointing the camera at actress Andrea Riseborough, who plays a mythical version of Wallis Simpson in the Madge-directed W.E., which not only paints its director as a raging Nazi sympathizer but also reveals itself (at least, through its trailer) as a beautiful mess. At the very least, W.E. is most definitely some degree of revisionist history, but it remains unclear how much of that is yet to be accepted or not.

To promote the film and in an interview entitled “Madonna: The Director’s Cut,” the Material Girl describes to Harper’s (as interviewed by feminist author Naomi Wolf) how hard it is to be a director as well as giving platonically intimate details about her relationship with 24-year-old French breakdancer Brahim Zaibat. Seriously, he’s not just a piece of meat:

On Film: “Making movies is really hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I believe sometimes we aren’t always in charge of everything that we do creatively. We submit to things as we’re going on our own journey. Wally was learning about herself, and so was I — on my own journey and the journey of all women. I don’t work any other way.”

On W.E.: “When I brought up the subject of Wallis Simpson to people when I was living in England, I was astounded by the outrage that was provoked by her name. The movie is all about the cult of celebrity. We like to put people on a pedestal, give them one character trait, and if they step outside of that shrinelike area that we blocked out for them, then we will punish them. Wallis Simpson became famous by default, by capturing the heart of the king, but it’s obviously a subject I’m constantly on the inside of, and the outside of.”

On Parallels Between W.E. & Herself: “I think my behavior and my lifestyle threaten a lot of social norms, like the movie does. I think there are a lot of parallels and connections. I think it’s just that as a creative person, in all the different things that I’ve done or ways that I’ve found to express myself, I’ve consistently come up against resistance in certain areas. I think that the world is not comfortable with female sexuality. It’s always coming from a male point of view, and a woman is being objectified by a man — and even women are comfortable with that. But when a woman does it, ironically, women are uncomfortable with it. I think a lot of that has to do with conditioning.”

On Mothering: “Well, I say to Lourdes, schoolwork always comes first, so anything that gets in the way of that falls by the wayside. We put our energy in education. She loves fashion and style. She helps design the collection. I just stand in the background and watch. I proofread her blogs and edit them and give her a hard time when I think she’s being a lazy writer.”

On Ageism: “I find whenever someone writes anything about me, my age is right after my name. It’s almost like they’re saying, ‘Here she is, but remember she’s this age, so she’s not that relevant anymore.’ Or ‘Let’s punish her by reminding her and everyone else.’ When you put someone’s age down, you’re limiting them.”

On Her Goals: :To have fun, that’s the main issue. To continue to be a provocateur, to do what we perceive as the realm of young people, to provoke, to be rebellious, to start a revolution.”

On What She Looks For In A Lover: “Well, it can also be more than just sexual, um, appendages. I don’t necessarily like to use the word lover because it sounds like they just come over and have sex with you. I aspire to more than that, and I need more than that. Respect for women and understanding that everything must be earned. Those are two big ones. Someone to share my inner life with. That’s extremely important. It’s also important that my children admire and respect this partner that I would choose for myself. Especially for my sons, who have their father [ex-husband Guy Ritchie], but they need a male role model as well. So I need to keep this in mind: What is this person modeling to my sons, what kind of man is he, what values does he have, what energy is he giving off? Because they are impressionable. It’s so important.”

[From Harper's Bazaar]

Such delusions. Where to begin? Yes, I do agree wtih Madonna that it’s incredibly important to see what “energy” that a hot young piece is giving off — particularly when he chooses to grab your ass in front of your grade-school-aged young children. And yes, ageism is petty and inexcusable, but it’s also futile to pretend that age does not exist in any shape or form. As for W.E. as an extension of Madonna’s very own self, well, now we know what she decided to make the film, right?

Now, what of this photoshoot? Madonna points a camera. And she’s, like, really smart and controversial and such a visionary because she dons some spectacles. Worship her.

Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar

I’ve long been chronicling and wondering about the “falling out” of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. They used to be super-tight, they used to work out together, they used to party together and use their fake British accents together and everything was super-duper and fancy. Then, about two years ago, it seemed like Goop and Madge began pulling away from each other. Many thought that the dust up was likely about money – notably, about Goop going into business with Tracy Anderson, the fraudulent trainer who had likely bilked Madge out of some investment money too. Goop and Anderson are still in business together, though, and Madge and Goop are still on the outs.

Then, earlier this year, something else weird happened – all of the “cool girls” began mean-girling Madge. It became evident at this year’s Met Gala, where Stella McCartney dressed both Gwyneth and Madge, but all of the cool girls wanted to hang out with Goop and everybody ignored Madge. Madge retaliated by telling reporters that she “felt fat” in her Stella dress, and BAM, Madge is no longer wearing Stella McCartney, nor is she friendly with any of the McCartneys any longer.

Now Star Magazine has an interesting take on what was really behind the Mean Girl War – it over boys, not money.

Madonna is singing the blues these days – because her A-list pals have turned their backs on her!

“Madonna doesn’t really have friends anymore,” a source tells Star. “She used to have a huge group who adored her. But now Gwyneth Paltrow, Stella McCartney, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kate Hudson, Fergie and everyone else have dumped her.”

And now it seems like all of Tinseltown is shunning the 53-year-old. Madonna was banned from Stella’s 40th birthday party and dad Paul’s wedding. And her outcast status was again obvious when none of her former friends turned out for the Oct. 23 London premiere of her film W.E.

According to the source, the cold shoulder began when Madonna clashed with BFF Gwyneth over her relationship with the actress’s husband, Coldplay front man Chris Martin.

“Madonna got a little too flirty with Chris, and the tnesion spilled over to her relationship with Gwyneth… when Gwyneth’s relationship with Madonna soured, so did everyone else’s. She got her friends in their circle to dump her too. And now Madonna’s really lonely because of it.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Er… Madge flirted with Chris Martin? And Goop got mad? Now, I don’t have any problems believing that Madonna is the kind of woman who will blatantly and directly flirt with your husband in front of you. I don’t have a problem believing that Goop systematically shuts out and mean-girls any woman who pays too much attention to Chris (hello, Kate Bosworth). My problem is putting those things together – Madge flirting with Chris and Goop getting mad about THAT? Yeah, I just don’t see it. Maybe I don’t want to see it, though. Gristle on goober. Rough.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

When I reported on Madonna’s homeless brother Anthony a few days ago, a few of you took me to task for suggesting that Madonna should do something to help him. Some of you have addicts in your family or do close work with the homeless, and have learned from painful experience that there’s nothing you can do to help someone who doesn’t want to quit drinking and drugging. I wrote in a comment that I respect that opinion and that it’s true that I haven’t experienced anything like that first hand. Having read another interview with Madonna’s brother, I really see your point.

Madonna’s brother Anthony Ciccone, 55, lives under a bridge in Michigan and spends his time drinking and finding money to continue drinking. It’s sad and it’s pointless, but after reading this interview I see that it’s something that only he can change, and that all the money in the world isn’t going to help the guy. Commenter Valleymiss repeated something she’s heard in the past about addiction that hit home for me. “When it comes to helping an addict, $20 is too much money and a million isn’t enough.” This comment by ahappyrobot really got me to see how severely addiction can ruin someone’s life, and the lengths people can go through to get drugs, screwing their entire family over in the process. So anyway here’s more from Madonna’s brother. Again, this is not the same brother who wrote a tell all about his sister, this is another guy. Anthony does blame his family somewhat, but it’s clear that he’s the one who screwed his life up.

He said: “How did I end up here? Ask my family.”

His nicotine-stained hands shook as he lit a cigarette before continuing: “I haven’t had anything to do with Madonna in years. I doubt if she cares about my predicament.

“The only reason people seem to care about me is who my sister is. I know I could tell stories about her but I won’t. She wants nothing to do with me. She has her life.”

Surrounded by empty beer cans and soggy old blankets beside the river in Traverse City, Anthony looked like a weather-beaten pensioner with his straggly white beard and ruddy face. He added: “Being homeless is hard but I’ve got nowhere else to go. I used to live in Manhattan, in the East Village.

“Then I went to Hollywood to work as a carpenter in the movies. Then I came back here to Michigan to work for our father’s vineyard — and it all went wrong.

“I’m the eldest and I’m what I call the red-headed stepchild — that’s an American expression for an unwanted kid. The black sheep of the family, if you like.

“A year or so ago my father ordered me out. I had nowhere else to go. I have an ex-partner and a son out in the Midwest who I haven’t seen in years. And although I am the eldest of eight children, my siblings don’t want to know…

“I am not going to ask Madonna for anything. Why would I? We had little to do with each other, even in the 1980s when I was in New York and she moved there to find fame and fortune.”

Madonna has spoken in the past about the pain of losing her mother — also called Madonna — to breast cancer in 1963 and how she and her siblings, including Anthony, had struggled to cope.

Their father, Silvio, later married the family’s housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and went on to have two more children, Jennifer and Mario.

Silvio is now in charge of the family’s vineyard on Michigan’s picturesque Leelanau peninsula, from which Anthony was fired last year.

He added: “This area of Michigan is beautiful. It’s the cherry capital of America.

“The homeless have gravitated to it because local churches provide food and you can sleep in the lobby of the local jail when it’s cold.

“The police directed me to this river bridge. It’s out of the way — the tourists can’t see us hidden down here. But it is rough.

“I’ve seen people get thrown in the river. The native Americans get drunk and start fights.

“I fell in the river once. I slipped on ice and cracked my head open. I was rescued by a cop.

“Last winter I got frostbite on my toes. The pain is excruciating but luckily I got treatment. I have a friend who lost all ten toes to frostbite. Now he gets about with a cane — he can just about walk. And he’s still homeless. I saw him at the church for breakfast this morning.

“People have died out here of hypothermia. Of course, given the chance I wouldn’t be out here but I don’t really have a choice.

“In Manhattan I had a rent-controlled apartment in Alphabet City. It was a s***hole but it only cost $300 (£190) a month.

“I was a carpenter and I wanted to work on the movies, so I moved to Hollywood. I did videos, commercials, the odd TV and film show. But I never worked with Madonna on anything. She didn’t ask me.

“People said I should be in front of the cameras but I never did it. Should have done really…

Anthony’s average day begins when the homeless are ordered out of Traverse City jail at 7am. He usually wanders the streets until 8.30am, when the Methodist church serves breakfast to the hungry.

He chats to pals, pops out constantly to smoke roll-up cigarettes and to cadge whatever money he can to buy strong beer.

By 11am he descends the broken wooden steps to the river bank and makes his way to the pile of old clothes and blankets left by other homeless people.

Waving his arms at the filthy bundle of rags and quilts he said: “In the summer months we all sleep here. It’s not great but I don’t have any choice. The police are OK but the powers in this town want us gone. They think we put off the tourists.

“If it wasn’t for the tourism, this place would be Bumf***, Iowa, and nobody would care.”

Asked if he would like a warming cup of coffee, Anthony said: “No, I want another beer.” It was still not even lunchtime…

Locals branded him a “druggie” but his homeless pal insisted he had kicked the habit and now relies on booze to get through the day.

Jerilyn DeBoer,who runs Cousin Jenny’s Cornish Pasty, a British-themed café yards from the bridge where Anthony hangs out, said: “The family have tried but there’s nothing more they can do.”

[From The Sun]

So I get it, I guess. Your stories really changed my position on this. So did a memoir I read a few years ago called The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, a former MSNBC columnist. Walls’ family lived a meager existence and her parents ended up homeless. She described in detail how they gradually pissed away every opportunity they had. She later learned that her mother owned land worth over a million dollars. I don’t think all homeless people put themselves there, that there’s no hope for them or that they deserve it. It’s complicated. Over the summer I heard a segment on NPR about “wet shelters,” which are controversial as they house homeless people while allowing them to drink. The arguments for wet shelters are that at least the homeless have a roof over their head, and that the cost to the taxpayer is lower in the long run. The arguments against them include the fact that they enable addiction. It’s not a simple issue and this story about Madonna’s brother reminds us that it’s not going to be solved anytime soon. I still can’t stand Madonna though.

Photo credit: PRPhotos