Madonna has never shied away from the controversial. In fact, she's made a career of besting social mores and causing social stirs.
And while "W.E." has got the critics up in arms, Madonna has made it known that she feels a kinship to the infamous character, The Duchess of Windsor.
Alongside her film's actress Andrea Riseborough, the singer covers the December issue of Harper's Bazaar to explain exactly why she needed to tell the story of Wallis Simpson.
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," Madonna says. "The movie is all about the cult of celebrity...I think my behavior and my lifestyle threaten a lot of social norms, like the movie does," she observes. "I think there are a lot of parallels and connections."
The article suggests that the critical hostility Madonna has faced has more to do with her gender than The Duke and Duchess' controversial political leanings.
"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."
For more, click over to Harper's Bazaar.
PHOTOS:
