Madonna Tribe’s Year End Review: Madonna On The Oprah Show
Another great Madonna moment this year was her return to the Oprah Winfrey Show. This was her second full lenght episode on Oprah and she discussed her life with Guy, her children’s books and of course, The Kiss.
Click on Full Article to read the full transcript of the show.
Here’s also the HQ image of Oprah and Madonna picture by Kwaku Alston from the current issue of “O” Magazine – click to enlarge
Special thanks to our NYC correspondent Remixdubboy for this HQ Scan
A NEW SIDE OF MADONNA
OPRAH WINFREY: It’s been five years since I talked to her. She’s here. And now Madonna is giving it up.
(Excerpts from upcoming segments)
Unidentified Woman #1: You know, she’s only talking to you.
WINFREY: For the first time, what she says about that kiss.
Has everybody in this room seen the kiss?
Unidentified Man #1: This is our primary close-up camera.
WINFREY: Marriage, motherhood, her latest passion.
Unidentified Man #1: Let’s get the dancers in place.
Unidentified Woman #2: We have speed.
Unidentified Man #2: I’m with Madonna.
Unidentified Woman: I’m ready.
Unidentified Man #1: We’re ready, Oprah.
Unidentified Man #3: Stand by.
Unidentified Woman #2: Five, four, three…
WINFREY: A whole new side of Madonna.
(End of excerpts)
WINFREY: Whoo! How’s your head? Thank you, Gap dancers. OK. OK. Whoo. Take a bow. Take a bow. This is the team–this is the team who backed up Madonna and Missy Elliott in their new groovin’ Gap commercial. Yes, thank you so much.
Today is the second day of our 18th season, and she’s here! She’s here! She is here. She is here. That’s right. It’s her–it’s her one and only interview about her new passion. Please welcome Madonna!
Whoo! Good, good. Hey. Good to see you. Good to see you. OK. Madonna!
OK. Thanks, Gap dancers. Whoo, whoo.
MADONNA: Wow, that’s a surprise.
WINFREY: That’s a surprise. That was fun.
Anyone here not see the kiss? You? OK.
MADONNA: I haven’t seen it.
WINFREY: I–I…
MADONNA: I did it. I didn’t see it.
WINFREY: You did it and you haven’t seen it. OK.
I–I didn’t see it, either. I thought I’m the only–I was the only person in the world who hadn’t seen it, so I said to my producers–they said ‘You’re the only person in the world who hasn’t seen it.’ Joe, roll the tape for the four of us in the room, including Madonna, who have not seen it.
(Excerpt from MTV Music Video Awards)
WINFREY: OK. That’s it. OK, so the world is still talking about it, and it’s almost, what, two weeks later?
MADONNA: I got on a plane and went to Scotland…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …that night, so I–I’ve been oblivious until this moment.
WINFREY: Really.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Did you know that it was like on the front page of the…
MADONNA: I had no idea that it was going to cause the–well, the ruckus that it caused.
WINFREY: I mean, I…
MADONNA: It was just a friendly kiss.
WINFREY: A–and–a–and you–not only–not only…
MADONNA: It really was. I swear to God.
WINFREY: Not only di–was it a ruckus, but it’s like major news stories. I hear that it’s been like running on clips over and over and over again in this country. But you are totally oblivious.
MADONNA: Yeah. There must be a lack of news stories or something, right?
WINFREY: Now, was that planned or was it spontaneous, or what was it? What was that?
MADONNA: Um, basically, it was supposed to–you know, I was the groom, and I had two brides, right?
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: So, you know, the groom and the bride are supposed to kiss.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: And it was just meant to be a playful, kind of ironic comment on the bride and groom kissing, because I had two brides. I was going to kiss both of my brides. And all the rehearsals–rehearsals we did, it was very, you know, ‘moi, moi’…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …right? And then…
WINFREY: That was more than ‘moi.’
MADONNA: I know.
WINFREY: Yeah. Yeah.
MADONNA: I know that, but that’s–if–if Britney looks like she’s, you know, kissing me in an aggressive manner, it was a surprise to me. I swear to God!
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: And, you know, I’m–I’m–I’m a showgirl. After 20 years in show business, we learn to roll with the punches, you know?
WINFREY: Absolutely. That’s right. You don’t go, ‘Oh, my g…’
MADONNA: If you have a lemon, you make lemonade. If someone comes at you with their lips slightly parted, you have to kiss them.
WINFREY: That’s the way it is.
MADONNA: It’s a–but it was totally meant in innocence and fun. And I–I don’t know. I don’t know why people are making such a big deal about it.
WINFREY: You really don’t.
MADONNA: I really don’t!
WINFREY: You really don’t. And are you surprised the…
MADONNA: Well, hasn’t anyone ever seen two girls kiss before?
WINFREY: Well, I don’t know if most of America has. Have you?
Unidentified Men: Yeah!
WINFREY: Oh, no. Listen, they’re just acting this hip because you’re here.
MADONNA: No, but I mean…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …it was silly, you know, like…
WINFREY: So it wasn’t meant to be…
MADONNA: Oh, please, no.
WINFREY: You weren’t trying to make a statement or do anything.
MADONNA: About what?
WINFREY: I–I don’t know. I don’t know. Just like…
MADONNA: I made those statements 10 years ago.
WINFREY: Ten years ago.
Now, your daughter, Lourdes, made her debut performance on the video music awards.
MADONNA: Yeah. She was a flower girl.
WINFREY: I know. Throwing out the little flowers. Was she nervous at all?
MADONNA: She was more obsessed with her hair than her performance, I have to tell you. She’s got a hair obsession, so…
WINFREY: Were you nervous for her?
MADONNA: I–yeah, I have to say I was a little bit worried about her doing it in the first place because I thought, oh, God, she’s going to go out on stage and think it’s the most incredible thing in the world, you know?
WINFREY: Uh-huh. And then love it and then…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Yeah. Do you not want her to love the stage?
MADONNA: Well, I just want her to have a normal childhood…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …you know.
WINFREY: Do you think so far you’ve been able to present her with a normal childhood?
MADONNA: As normal as…
WINFREY: As you can be.
MADONNA: As it could be. You know, I mean, when–when we get home and the doors are closed, it’s–I would definitely say–I mean, I don’t know what your idea of normal is, but we don’t play up the idea that there are celebrities living in the house or that–we don’t talk about fame. We don’t have magazines in–in the house, and we don’t watch television, so we’re cut off from all of that.
WINFREY: But she certainly is aware of, by now, the nature of your fame, because she’s old enough to understand…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …a little bit more about what that means.
MADONNA: Yeah, she is. I don’t think–you know, she–she knows that I work for a living. She knows I sing and dance for a living. She’s come to a million photo shoots and video shoots. Yes, she understands that’s mom’s work. And she’s basically accepted the–you know, the presence of photographers on streets, and she doesn’t–we never talk about it. It’s just–they’re there. They’re like–we call them bunnies.
WINFREY: Oh, do you?
MADONNA: ‘Are the bunnies out there?’ you know, she asks.
WINFREY: Yeah. Yeah.
MADONNA: It’s ‘Mom, there’s bunnies out there.’ I’m like, ‘OK,’ and then we go in the house and you know, no one ever mentions them again.
WINFREY: That’s cool.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: When we come back, what Madonna never thought she’d do, she is now doing, and it’s really wonderful. We’ll be right back to talk about it with Madonna.
(Announcements)
(Excerpt from “American Life”)
WINFREY: That was the song “American Life” from Madonna’s new CD, “American Life.”
What were you saying in that song?
MADONNA: Basically, the idea is that I have all of these things that money can buy, but I realized that those aren’t the things that make you happy, that make you feel fulfilled, and–and that nothing in the material world will ever make us happy.
WINFREY: You are the material girl.
MADONNA: Well, that was meant to be ironic.
WINFREY: Uh-huh.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: No. But–no, you…
MADONNA: No, but I mean, I’m–I’m so not the material girl. I mean, I–I suppose to a certain extent there were many years in my life–I–I mean, I’m sure I don’t suppose–where I thought that–that those things would–that fame and fortune and public approval would bring me happiness.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: And then–well, you know, one day you wake up and you realize it doesn’t.
WINFREY: And what was that day for you?
MADONNA: I think it’s after I made “Evita,” you know, I–I won a Golden Globe. I was pregnant. I was about to have a baby.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: And, you know, it seemed like life was hunky-dory. I had everything. But I still felt like something was missing.
WINFREY: And what was that something?
MADONNA: An understanding of what my place in the world really was. Up until that point, I felt myself being sort of controlled by the–the ups and downs that happened to me in my life. You know, if things were going great, I was happy. If someone said something negative about me in the newspapers, I got depressed. If I had a relationship that was fun and good and everything was hunky-dory, then I was happy.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: And if that relationship fell apart, then I was not happy, and I–I did–I didn’t understand–I didn’t feel like I was in control of my life.
WINFREY: So you were being defined by all the external things.
MADONNA: By the things–exactly.
WINFREY: Yeah. Yeah.
MADONNA: By external things.
WINFREY: So what happened after you realized there’s more to life than all of this stuff? Was there something in particular that happened that caused this?
MADONNA: I think probably the–the biggest thing was the fact that I was about to become a parent.
WINFREY: Uh-huh.
MADONNA: And I wanted to understand what I was going to teach my daughter, and I didn’t really understand where I stood on things.
WINFREY: Uh-huh.
MADONNA: I wanted to understand what the meaning of happiness was and what and how I was going to go about finding true and lasting happiness in my life and how I was going to teach that to my daughter.
WINFREY: What do you think now when you look back at some of those years? I mean, all the little girls who were imitating you and walking around with the breasts pointed out in their bras, bras on the outside of their clothes and the–you know–because they didn’t have what you had, but wanted whatever they thought–the illusion that you had.
MADONNA: Right.
WINFREY: They wanted that.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: And–and were not looking beneath the surface of anything…
MADONNA: Right.
WINFREY: …other than ‘I want, I want, I want.’
MADONNA: Exactly.
WINFREY: What do you think when you look back on that time in your…
MADONNA: When I look back at it, I think, wow, I had a huge desire, a huge desire to–to–to receive, you know. I–I–I–I had big dreams, I was ambitious. I was courageous. I was provocative, but I don’t feel like I had the whole picture of–of life. I did the best that I could with the knowledge that I had.
WINFREY:. Yeah.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: And when you know better, you do better.
MADONNA: Exactly.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: And so was it your children or just this desire? Because what I have s–found is that seek and ye shall find, and opening the doors…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …you know, knock and the doors shall be opened to you.
MADONNA: Right.
WINFREY: Was it–was it the–the culmination of having a child…
MADONNA: I…
WINFREY: …wanting something deeper in your life?
MADONNA: Yeah, it’s a combination of, you know, of being pregnant, of wanting to really–of wanting to find my soul mate, and wanting a feeling of–of–of lasting happiness.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: But I’m–I’m not doing it on my own. I mean, I–I have to say that, you know, there are no mistakes. I think everything happens for a reason, and when I was–when I was pregnant with my daughter, basically that’s when I started to study cabala, and that–you know, it–it happened–everything happened to me at once in this one like kind of section of my life where I w–I had a deep yearning to understand what I was doing, what…
WINFREY: What is cabala?
MADONNA: It’s a belief system that gives you tools to–to deal with–to deal with life, and there are a lot of principles in–in cabala that–that c–that–that resemble concepts in Christianity or in Buddhism that you (unintelligible).
WINFREY: And the fundamental principle is what, that you are responsible for your…
MADONNA: Right.
WINFREY: …life?
MADONNA: I’ll give you two fundamental principles. One is the–is the–is the–the issue of responsibility…
WINFREY: Right. Yeah.
MADONNA: …that we’re responsible for everything that happens to us.
WINFREY: Right.
MADONNA: OK? And that we have to take responsibility for everything that happens to us.
WINFREY: Right.
MADONNA: For instance, good things happen to us. We win an award, we win a basketball game. We get a promotion.
WINFREY: Right.
MADONNA: We meet our–the love of our lives and we–and we take ownership of that. We go, ‘I did that. I attracted that.’
WINFREY: Yes.
MADONNA: That’s because of me.
WINFREY: Yes.
MADONNA: But then bad things happen to us.
WINFREY: Right. And you say…
MADONNA: An illness. We get fired. This happened. And we–and that’s–we’re—we’re divorced from that.
WINFREY: Right.
MADONNA: We’re disconnected from that. We–we don’t take responsibility. That’s just something that happened to us, and obviously that’s an absurd…
WINFREY: Right.
MADONNA: …idea.
WINFREY: Yes.
MADONNA: So, first of all, we take responsibility for everything and we understand that as we can draw positive, we can draw negative.
WINFREY: And that there’s nothing happening out of order with you.
MADONNA: No.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: The–the–there are laws–there…
WINFREY: Well, this is what I believe. I didn’t know I believed in cabala, but this is my–these are my beliefs.
MADONNA: Good.
WINFREY: Yeah. These are my beliefs.
MADONNA: Well, you are. You’re a–you’re a closet cabalist.
WINFREY: I’m a…
MADONNA: Then…
WINFREY: I’m a closet cabalist…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …and didn’t know it.
MADONNA: Yeah. But the other principle is that–that–is that there is an all-giving, all-loving force. You can–you could call it God.
WINFREY: I believe that, too.
MADONNA: The light force of God…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …the energy. You know, whatever. You know, cabalists call it the light, but essentially it is God.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: OK. So the idea is that–that this force, this God, is all-loving and all-giving, and when we disconnect from this force, we–that’s when we have chaos.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: That’s when we invite pain and suffering into our lives.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: And that leads me to the children’s book, because now you’re–you’re probably wondering, well, how can I disconnect?
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: How–what’s the way I could disconnect from God, or the light force of God or whatever? Well, one of them is jealousy and envy, coveting what somebody else has.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: Not being grateful for the things you have and going–looking at what they have and not being satisfied, wanting what they have.
WINFREY: And that’s what leads us–this is a beautiful segue, is
MADONNA: And that is what “The English Roses” is about.
WINFREY: Coming up, meet Madonna’s new girls. It’s her latest passion, “The English Roses.” We’ll be right back.
(Announcements)
WINFREY: So, just yesterday–just yesterday–just yesterday, Madonna was in the news again when she made publishing history with the release of her first children’s book. It’s called “The English Roses.” Who would have thought Madonna would have ever done a children’s book? Well, she keeps surprising the world. The book is really, really charming. It’s a story about five 11-year-old girls who learn about jealousy and envy and friendship. Madonna dedicated the book to her own children, and Madonna, please introduce us to “The Eng–English Roses,” will you?
MADONNA: OK.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: Starting from the right, Grace, Charlotte with the bangs, Amy with the red hair, Nicole with the glasses, and–and then when all these girls overcome their jealousy and envy, they become friends with Binah…
WINFREY: Binah.
MADONNA: …who becomes the fifth English rose.
WINFREY: I read this whole story. I think it’s really, really beautifully done. You did a great job.
MADONNA: Thank you.
WINFREY: A really great job, and I know a few things about books, so this is really–a really good job. What’s really interesting to me is when I was reading the story about “The English Roses” and Binah, are you Binah in the story?
MADONNA: No.
WINFREY: You’re not.
MADONNA: No.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: If it–I–I’m not in the story.
WINFREY: OK. OK. We have “The English Roses,” and they had–had this other girl that they knew, and her name was Binah, and here are some things you should know about her. ‘She was very, very beautiful. She had long, silky hair and skin like milk and honey. She was an excellent student and very good at sports. She was always kind to people. She was special. But she was sad because even though she was the most beautiful girl anyone had ever seen, she was also very lonely. She had no friends and everywhere she went, she was alone. By now you’re probably wondering what’s the big deal? If she was so nice, why didn’t the English roses invite her over for a cup of tea?’ Then you say, ‘Listen, I already told you why, because they were a little jealous.’ So I was just wondering, because she was one of those girls who seemed to have everything…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …on the outside…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …whether or not you were incorporating some of yourself?
MADONNA: I may have unconsciously done that.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: I mean, I–I–to tell you the truth, probably it was more inspired by my daughter.
WINFREY: Really.
MADONNA: Because she goes to the French school in–in London, and there’s–most of the children are French there. Well, it’s very international, but there’s a little core group of girls that stick together c–that are English. And I went in for a meeting with the teacher to talk about my daughter. It was like one of those, you know, every-few-months meetings that you have. And she told me– like I said, ‘Well, who are her friends?’ And she said, ‘She hangs out with the English roses.’ And I said, ‘Oh. Well, who–what’s that?’ And she said, ‘Oh, it’s just this group of English girls that stick together in this school.’ And I thought, that’s a cute idea. You know, like I just had this idea, the English roses. I know…
WINFREY: Why are they called that?
MADONNA: Because they are the four English girls that stuck together in a French school.
WINFREY: Oh, OK.
MADONNA: And, you know, a–a–and the typical English beauty is an English rose with the pale complexion, you know, and all that stuff.
WINFREY: Right, right, right.
MADONNA: So–but I also know that my daughter in school and on the playground was often–is often singled out, you know, because I’m her mother, and I think sometimes children unconsciously treat her differently because they perceive that she has more or she has everything, and so I think I–I kind of incorporated that into the story, the–the idea of the English roses, the fact that, you know, Binah’s mother died when she was young. I–you know, used that from my own childhood. So it’s a mishmash…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …of–of experiences, which is what writing is.
WINFREY: So you can understand why I might think Binah might have something to do…
MADONNA: Oh, yeah. I can assure you I never thought I was beautiful as a child, so I wouldn’t–you know…
WINFREY: Uh-huh.
MADONNA: I didn’t, you know, try to write about–you know…
WINFREY: Yeah, I know, but I was just thinking parts of the story might have something…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …to do…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: But–so it really was inspired by your own children and reading to your own children at night.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: I mean, for me, to be able to write these books is a–a–a huge blessing because, first of all, I get to share things that I’ve learned with children and that’s one thing. And–and the other is that I have great stories, in–in my opinion, to read to my children at bed.
WINFREY: Yes. So what age would you –if you wanted to start reading this to your children, what age would that be?
MADONNA: Well, I started writing that when my daughter was six. She’s almost seven, and she was my–basically my co-editor.
WINFREY: On this.
MADONNA: Right, absolutely.
WINFREY: Because what–she would tell you when things were boring.
MADONNA: Ah! ‘Mom, that’s boring. You said that already. Get rid of that bit.’
WINFREY: That’s great.
MADONNA: I’m like, ‘OK,’ And she–but she–she loved–she loved more than anything all the activities that they did.
WINFREY: It sounds like you have a great relationship with your daughter.
MADONNA: It’s good.
WINFREY: Yeah. Yeah.
MADONNA: No, I do. I have a great relationship with her. You know, we’re–you know, she’s–she’s a little bit more obsessed with her hair than I’d like her to be. I don’t know where that comes from.
WINFREY: It’s a phase. It’s a phase.
MADONNA: I hope so.
WINFREY: Next, what happened–what happened when Madonna interviewed her husband, Guy Ritchie, on camera. See that tape when we come back. We’ll be right back. “The English Roses”…
(Announcements)
(Excerpts from videotape)
Ms. MISSY ELLIOTT: I’d always dreamed of working with Madonna, because I always felt like if I had any kind of connection with any artist, it would be Madonna. What she do in her field, she’s edgy, she’s not scared to take risks, and that’s pretty much me on the hip-hop, rap side.
Mr. KYLE ANDREW (Gap Marketing): They both have the bling-bling. Madonna’s wearing about $20 million worth of ice.
Mr. JOE ZEE (Fashion Director): She’s wearing a $50,000 wallet chain.
Mr. PAUL HUNTER (Director): Madonna looks over to me and says, ‘I’m not going to be out-blinged by Missy.’
Ms. ELLIOTT: God, working with Madonna on The Gap commercial was incredible. For me to have a chance to be on the same stage, to be in a commercial with Madonna is a blessing.
Unidentified Man #4: Thank you very, very much. That is a wrap.
(End of excerpts)
WINFREY: Whoa. That was some behind-the-scenes footage of the much-talked-about about Gap ad starring Madonna and hip-hopper Missy Elliott.
You just did the splits…
MADONNA: Yep.
WINFREY: …at the end of that.
MADONNA: In six-inch platforms.
WINFREY: Yeah. You are in the best shape of any woman I’ve ever seen.
MADONNA: Really?
WINFREY: Yes, you are. You know, I saw in the–any woman I’ve ever seen regardless of what age. I saw–I was looking at the W magazine recently and there was a picture of you on a table with your leg…
MADONNA: Behind my head.
WINFREY: I–now I hadn’t seen it, but Gayle, my best friend Gayle, brought it to me. And so–this is a funny thing. She–Gayle knew you were coming, so last night…
MADONNA: Uh-oh.
WINFREY: …last night–Ga–Madonna, last night Gayle brought this picture to me, and she said–this is the one–Gayle said, ‘OK, I want you to get up on the table,’ and Gayle said–Gayle said, ‘I’m going to break your leg, and then put part of it behind your head and let’s take a picture.’ I mean, did that hurt?
MADONNA: Crazy doing your–your leg. No, it didn’t.
WINFREY: That didn’t hurt.
MADONNA: No. I do it every morning.
WINFREY: You do that every morning.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: Well, actually, I put the other leg behind my head at the same time.
WINFREY: Oh, you do.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: OK. Is there a picture of her squatting? There’s a picture of her–Madonna squatting with the pole…
MADONNA: It’s called yoga.
WINFREY: Yeah, I know–picture of her squatting with the pole. So last night Gayle–Gayle was walking around saying, ‘No, let–let’s just try it to see if we can do it.’ I was going, ‘You are out of your mind.’ And so we have the picture of Madonna squatting by the pole just like that. Gayle goes, ‘I think even that’s hard.’
MADONNA: Well, that–I–that was actually the easiest pose of all of them.
WINFREY: Really.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: It doesn’t hurt your knees at all?
MADONNA: No.
WINFREY: So really, I had Gayle in the kitchen between two counters, really, trying to squat, and I kept saying, ‘No, your butt’s too high.’
MADONNA: No, but actually…
WINFREY: ‘Look at her picture. Look at the…’
MADONNA: It’s easier to squat when you have heels on.
WINFREY: Is it?
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Why? Why?
MADONNA: Because the heel lifts–the–the heel on your shoe lifts your heel up and you have further down to go.
WINFREY: OK. That’s for–you can push your butt down further.
MADONNA: Yeah. So, like I’m wearing heels…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …right now, so it’s easy for me to sit like this.
WINFREY: Uh! Go right ahead.
MADONNA: OK. Hi.
WINFREY: That’s great.
MADONNA: We’re just going to conduct the interview like this. That’s OK.
WINFREY: That’s called yoga. But we did a yoga class together once, Gayle and I, and we came out of the class, and Gayle said, ‘I did not like that.’ And I said, ‘What part didn’t you like?’
GAYLE: I’d never do that again.
WINFREY: And what did you say, Gayle?
GAYLE: Because you’re bent up like a pretzel. I said, ‘That is so uncomfortable. I never want to do that again.’
WINFREY: No, Gayle said, ‘I don’t like the bending or the stretching part.’
GAYLE: Other than that, it’s great.
MADONNA: Well, that–then you don’t like the yoga part.
WINFREY: Then you don’t like the yoga part.
GAYLE: …(Unintelligible) That’s true.
MADONNA: I mean, It’s–probably from the outside to look at it, it–it probably looks rather undignified, but it’s actually really good for you.
WINFREY: That’s what’s kept you ageless.
MADONNA: Well, I think that’s part of it. Part of it is that, and the other part is just my attitude.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: Yeah. I mean, I mean, you go…
WINFREY: I know–a lot–a lot of people have a great attitude, but they are aging.
MADONNA: They don’t…
WINFREY: You know…
MADONNA: They don’t have a great enough attitude.
WINFREY: Yeah. It’s attitude, but it’s also–is it too…
MADONNA: It’s lifestyle. I mean, it’s partly that. It’s partly, you know, blessings from God.
WINFREY: Are you on–are you on–are you on micro–macrobiotic…
MADONNA: Macrobiotic. I–I was strict macrobiotic for a couple of years, but I just had to have a lamb chop.
WINFREY: OK.
MADONNA: So now I’m–I’m–I’m–I–I fell off the macro wagon. But I mean, I’m–I’m fittin’ to get back on.
WINFREY: Fittin’ to get–we’ll be back to see what happened when Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, interviewed each other. I promise, we’ll look at that when we come back.
(Announcements)
WINFREY: Having a little chat with Madonna today. Madonna–Madonna has now found a new passion that she is telling us about today, and she’s written her first-ever children’s book. It’s called “The English Roses.”
And I read that you had said some–to someone that writing this book made you feel liberated, that your creativity wasn’t motivated by…
MADONNA: Greed.
WINFREY: Right. Or–or ego.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: For one of the first times in your life.
MADONNA: Yeah.
MADONNA: Is that true?
MADONNA: Yeah, yeah, totally true. It was actually–yeah, it was the first time in my life, because I–I knew that I was going to write these stories, and I wasn’t going to make any money off of them.
WINFREY: And this is first in a series of five.
MADONNA: First in a series of five. And I–basically, I wanted to take all the things that I’ve learned over the last seven years and turn them into stories for children to inspire children, and I wanted to take all the money that I made from the books and–and give that money to children’s charities. So for me this is an amazing concept, because my entire career, for the last 20 years, every time I’ve taken a job, I went, ‘How much money is it going to pay me, and how much–you know, how much time is it going to take me?’ And, I mean, we all–you know, I mean, we would be fools and liars if–if we didn’t think about, you know, what we were going to get out of it. And for the most part we all go through our days only doing things with an agenda. Like, well, what am I going to get out of it? If I do this for you, what are you going to do for me?
So for me it was incredibly liberating to write these stories and to know that–that my gift was that I was going to give these stories to people, and I don’t know what happened, because it is the last thing in the world I ever intended to do, write children’s stories, but I felt incredibly star–inspired from the minute I started.
WINFREY: Really.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Now, you seem to me–I mean, I–I think I interviewed you five years ago and I–you know, I don’t know you, I just re…
MADONNA: I was a whole different person.
WINFREY: Yeah. You’re different today…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …than you were then.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: You seem to be a kinder…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …gentler…
MADONNA: Really?
WINFREY: Yeah. You really do.
MADONNA: Good.
WINFREY: I’m not kidding.
MADONNA: Good.
WINFREY: And I’ve been reading some of the…
MADONNA: I–I’m working on it.
WINFREY: I’ve been reading some of the stuff, and I said–and I thought it’s very easy to say all these things. It’s very easy–easy to do the cabala talk, but there is a–I would say there is–there is–there’s–there’s–you’re calmer. You’re definitely more calm than you were the last time.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Your energy is a lot–it’s just–it’s a–it’s a softer vibration coming from you…
MADONNA: Good.
WINFREY: …than before.
MADONNA: Good.
WINFREY: So it’s a good thing.
MADONNA: It’s a very good thing.
WINFREY: Yeah. It’s a good thing.
MADONNA: Right.
WINFREY: Now, how does it affect your creativity? Is it–the fact that you’re–that this calmness and this–that you–you don’t…
MADONNA: I–I’ve actually never felt more creative. And I think that another thing that I’ve learned over the past seven years is that I’m not the owner of my talent. I’m the manager of my talent, and if I learn how to manage my talent correctly and I accept that I’m just channeling things that come from God, that are blessings from God, they will keep flowing through me.
WINFREY: It’s like you got born again, but not in a religious sense.
MADONNA: Please not in a religious sense.
WINFREY: Yeah. I–you know what I’m saying.
MADONNA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
WINFREY: Like it–it’s–you opened up to something deeper than the material world.
MADONNA: Yeah. The miracle of–of life…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …really.
WINFREY: Now what I really–what I’ve read recently that I really most appreciated hearing was that your–that your–that your daughter goes to spirituality classes.
MADONNA: Yep.
WINFREY: And, you know, at one time I’d thought about having children. I don’t think about it anymore. But at one time I thought about having children, and the one reason I thought of having children, the one primary reason, I thought, would be wonderful to raise someone from the time that they are a babe and bring them up in a world and teach them the power of themselves and their relationship to that which is bigger than themselves in a–in a very spiritual way. So what it sounds like your daughter does is she goes to spirituality classes and is taught about…
MADONNA: She goes–she goes to a Spirituality for Kids school and basically all the money that I–I just want to point out that all the money I make for the books goes to the Spirituality for Kids Foundation. One of the programs they have is an after-school and weekend program for kids between the ages–ages of six and 12, and they go to school to learn–basically learn tools for dealing with life, and I wish to God that I had known…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …a lot of the things that my daughter’s learning.
WINFREY: They’re taught about giving and sharing and…
MADONNA: Right. Giving and sharing. They’re taught about the laws of cause and effect. For every action…
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: …there’s a reaction.
WINFREY: I–I think that’s big.
MADONNA: I mean, how amazing is that?
WINFREY: I think that’s big.
MADONNA: Don’t you wish someone told you that when you were six?
WINFREY: Yeah. To have gotten that when you were six?
MADONNA: And–and I’ll give you a good example. We–they’re also taught about the–the fact that there’s two forces within all of us. There’s the good side, the light side, the side that’s giving and caring and loving, and there’s–the dark side, the negative side, the opponent.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: Let’s call it the opponent. So their job is to like for their good side, to get their good side to defeat their bad side.
WINFREY: Yeah.
MADONNA: And when they say–do naughty things or say negative things, that’s just their opponent. That’s not really them. So my daughter came home from school, and–actually I don’t think it was right after she came home from school–it was later on in the week. I was in a grumpy mood, if you could imagine, and–and I–I walked through the kitchen, and she asked me to do something for her, and I snapped at her, which was the wrong thing for me to do, but I was at–you know, on the edge, and I just said, you know, something like, you know, ‘Can’t you see I’m busy right now?’ or something, and she looked at me and said, ‘Mom, don’t use that tone of voice with me.’ I said, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘That’s not really you. That’s just your opponent.’ And I was like…
WINFREY: That’s pretty good.
MADONNA: I was stunned. And I was–you know, at first it was like–and then I thought…
WINFREY: That’s really good.
MADONNA: ‘OK, that’s why I send her to that school,’ you know.
WINFREY: So at–so at six–so at six, she is learning the number-one principle of cabala is that you take responsibility for your own actions.
MADONNA: Yeah, yeah.
WINFREY: That’s really, really good.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Las–let me ask you, how is marriage? How is it?
MADONNA: Incredible.
WINFREY: It’s incredible.
MADONNA: Thank God, yes.
WINFREY: Incredible.
MADONNA: Incredible.
WINFREY: Did you think it would be incredible?
MADONNA: I–I had a fairy book–a fairy story book, a fairy tale idea of what marriage would be like, and it turned out to not be that at all. It turned out to be better. Harder and better.
WINFREY: Harder and be–how so?
MADONNA: I think–I think that I’m learning for the first time in my life to love someone unconditionally.
WINFREY: Hmm.
MADONNA: And that’s a hard thing to do, but the best.
WINFREY: Yeah, so it’s not about you. It’s about him. It’s about you–it’s a spiritual partnership which–a spiritual partnership.
MADONNA: Totally. It’s about being–it’s about facing in the same direction.
WINFREY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: My friend Gary Zukav says that the spiritual partnership is a partnership between equals…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …for the purpose of spiritual growth.
MADONNA: Yes.
WINFREY: And if you know that…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: …then all of the stuff that comes up in the relationship, you know, …(unintelligible)…
MADONNA: Yeah.
WINFREY: Because you know it’s all about growing you and growing him to the next place. So it’s better than you thought.
MADONNA: Yeah, great.
WINFREY: I can’t imagine what that is then.
Last year Guy Ritchie directed his wife, Madonna, in the remake of the film “Swept Away,” and while promoting the film, they sat down and interviewed each other for VH1. This was a first. Take a look at some of this.
(Excerpts from videotape)
MADONNA: Why did you hire me to star in your film and not Julia Roberts?
Mr. GUY RITCHIE: Well, actually, I did ask her.
MADONNA: And?
Mr. RITCHIE: Well, she said no.
MADONNA: So I was like second on the list?
Mr. RITCHIE: No.
MADONNA: Oh.
Mr. RITCHIE: However, you were available. You’re cheap. You’re my wife.
MADONNA: You could save money because we shared a room.
Mr. RITCHIE: Yes.
MADONNA: Right. That makes sense. So what was it like working with me?
(From movie set) I need cranberry juice or I can’t work.
Mr. RITCHIE: You’re a true professional.
MADONNA: (From movie set) I’m over this low-budget (censored) film.
Mr. RITCHIE: No, you’re a pleasure to work with, Mrs. Ritchie. I’d work with you in a heartbeat again.
MADONNA: Would you? Did it make you jealous to watch Adriano lay on top of me and smooch up on my neck?
Mr. RITCHIE: (From movie set) …(Unintelligible).
MADONNA: (From movie set) But Guy, you wrote it.
Mr. RITCHIE: Why are you biting your lip?
MADONNA: I’m just looking forward to the answer.
Mr. RITCHIE: Would you like me to have been jealous?
MADONNA: Yeah.
Mr. RITCHIE: Ah.
MADONNA: Just a little bit.
Mr. RITCHIE: Yeah, I was a bit jealous. Did you kiss him?
MADONNA: I think my lips brushed up against his a few times. I re–I didn’t try to do it. It just happened.
Mr. RITCHIE: Really?
MADONNA: Mm-hmm, in the tussle.
Mr. RITCHIE: I didn’t know that. So, what, you want me to…
MADONNA: Have a reaction?
Mr. RITCHIE: Have a reaction?
MADONNA: If you like.
Mr. RITCHIE: (From movie set) All Right! Get off her!
(End of excerpts)
WINFREY: Coming up, Britney Spears on the first time she met Madonna. We’ll be right back. Back in a moment.
MADONNA: Ahh!
(Announcements)
(Excerpts from videotape)
Mr. CHRIS ROCK: She’s the smartest person I know, actually. And when you talk to Madonna, it’s weird because she can be 25 years old or she could be 500 years old, like she’s got that kind of knowledge.
Ms. CARMEN ELECTRA: She’s a genius. She’s always changing, and every–everyone’s loved her at different periods of her life, which is really cool.
Unidentified Man #5: (From “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) The great thing about Madonna is she does fashion on her own terms…
Unidentified Man #6: Yeah.
Unidentified Man #5: …which is how we do it, being gay, on our own terms.
Unidentified Men: (Singing) ‘Like a virgin–ooh–touched for the very first time…’
Mr. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: You look up icon in the dictionary, there’s Ma–a picture of Madonna.
MYA: She’s very diligent, she’s very expressive, she’s very risk-taking, and think that’s the beauty of being an artist. She does not hold back.
Mr. ROCK: I–I’m not singing. You’re not getting me today. (Singing) ‘Get into the groove, oh, you got to prove your love to me.’
Ms. KIM CATTRAL: She keeps reinventing herself in such an amazing way, as a woman and as an artist and she always sings from her heart and from her life experience, and to have that kind of longevity in any business, especially show business, it’s amazing. My hat’s off to her.
(End of excerpts)
MADONNA: Thank you.
WINFREY: Backstage at this year’s MTV video music awards where, as we all know, Madonna caused quite a stir.
What young performers–what young–what young performers do you love to watch?
MADONNA: Eminem.
WINFREY: Eminem?
MADONNA: Yep, he’s great. Missy.
WINFREY: Missy.
MADONNA: Hmm. I think Justin Timberlake is an amazing performer. Britney.
WINFREY: Britney. Yeah.
MADONNA: Duh.
WINFREY: The day before they took the MTV stage by storm, Britney Spears sat down for our cameras to talk about you. Let’s take a look.
MADONNA: You’ve been sneaking around.
WINFREY: Yeah, we try a little bit, just a little bit.
(Excerpts from videotape)
Ms. BRITNEY SPEARS: My first memories of Madonna I think probably when she did “Like a Virgin.” Oh, my goodness, honestly, I remember watching her videos and then saying, ‘I want to do that one day.’ First time I met her in person, I went to one of her shows. I think it was her Drowned World Tour. I was extremely nervous. Does she really know who I am? Like I’m not that cool, you know. Just freakin’ Madonna, man. But she was very sweet. Very, very cool. She was backstage playing the guitar and she was with Lola.
We’ve worked together off and on. One day I came to rehearsal and I was just really tired. And she was like, ‘I just feel your energy.’ She said, ‘You’re kind of down.’ She says, ‘Don’t let this stuff get to you.’ She gave me that advice, just to basically stay true to yourself, take time out for you and for your soul. I think she was a woman–she had a lot of balls. She did what she felt right. She’s stunningly beautiful still the way she takes care of herself, and away from work, the fact that she is able to raise a great family, to really make a family and a bond like that, I think that’s so important. She’s a true artist. I think she is the pop icon. She’s like the pioneer of all women.
(End of excerpts)
WINFREY: …(Unintelligible). Thank you.
MADONNA: Wow! I’m so flattered.
WINFREY: We’ll be right back. We’ll be right back.
(Announcements)
WINFREY: Viewers from all over the world e-mailed us when they heard that Madonna was stopping by for a visit, but there was one letter we thought Madonna would like to hear for herself. Take a look.
(Excerpts from videotape)
Dear Oprah, my best friend since kindergarten, Kerri, was diagnosed with a very rare liver cancer just after her 17th birthday. Four painful months later, Kerri passed away. But before she died, Madonna put a smile back on her face. Kerri had been a huge Madonna fan since she was just a little girl. One day unexpectedly Kerri received a phone call from Madonna. That day was the first day since she had been sick that I heard true happiness in her voice. And the phone calls didn’t stop there. Every day after that, Madonna would call Kerri. Kerri and Madonna developed a true friendship. They talked about everything from music to the afterlife. Madonna was Kerri’s angel. Since Kerri’s not with us today, I wanted Madonna to know how much of a positive effect she had on Kerri. She is the reason Kerri woke up every morning. She’s also the reason I’ve been able to deal with losing Kerri, and for that Madonna is my angel, too. She saved us both. Crystal.
(End of excerpts)
WINFREY: That’s bringing the light. That’s bringing the light, you’re talking about. That’s bringing the light. Bringing the light.
So there are three people here today who never dreamed they’d get the chance to thank you in person. Meet Crystal, Kerri’s mom Gail, and Kerri’s sister Lisa.
And what did you want to say? What did you want to say?
CRYSTAL: I want to say you were the most amazing person ever, and I love you so much for what you did for her.
WINFREY: We’ll be right back.
(Announcements)
WINFREY: Madonna’s new book; get it–get it and–and read it to your children. Read it to your children, for your children who can’t read. It’s called “The English Roses.” It’s beautifully done. Madonna and The Gap put together a little gift bag for everybody to take home. It’s filled with the new book, a pair of the new Gap corduroys–Where’d you get them jeans?–as seen on Madonna, on the “American Life” CD. Special thanks to MTV. Thank you all for sharing all your great footage of Madonna from over the years.
Bye, everybody.
Source and copyright: Harpo Productions