‘Madonna is gay?’ Fans and critics are hung up on the pop icon’s cryptic TikTok
Madonna is no stranger to dividing audiences. But with her latest TikTok, the hitmaker faces a flurry of both support and criticism.
“If I miss, I’m Gay,” the pop star captioned a TikTok video posted on Sunday. The brief clip featured the singer in her luxury boudoir playing basketball with a pair of hot pink panties and a trash can. She attempted to throw the underwear into the bin, but instead it landed on the floor. Unbothered by her missed shot, Madge turned around and waved a peace sign.
If the caption holds true, then Madonna just might have come out as gay in her TikTok, which went viral and received a mixed bag of reactions.
“Did I just witness Madonna coming out, good for her,” one TikTok user replied to the video.
After countless concerts in arenas and stadiums, Madonna is on tour playing rooms as small as any she’s played in decades.
“We are witnessing herstory,” said another.
The TikTok prompted conversation about the “Material Girl” singer’s sexuality but also sparked conversation about whether the pop icon was “queerbaiting,” pandering to fans within the LGBTQ community to gain popularity or boost sales.
From Taylor Swift to Nick Jonas to Kacey Musgraves, pop stars are increasingly declaring themselves allies of LGBTQ fans, with varying degrees of success.
“It’s just a trend queer baiters do to get attention,” one Twitter user said, dismissing Madonna’s video and her potential coming out.
Other Twitter users said the singer “is not gay” and “just wants attention,” and that her video on TikTok is Madonna’s way to “seek validation from young people, stay relevant.”
Other Twitter uses came to Madonna’s defense.
“People calling her queerbaiting. They clearly don’t know WHO MADONNA IS. This new generation really need to educate themselves and stop saying whatever s— comes in their little head,” said a Twitter fan in response to the claims.
“oh I KNOW the term ‘queerbaiting’ has lost all meaning when the tik Tok teens are using it on MADONNA,” said another.
Madonna sends ‘Tonight Show’ host Jimmy Fallon into a tizzy after sprawling across his desk and giving the audience a peek at her scantily clad derrière.
In addition to criticizing the social media users who dubbed Madonna a queer baiter or saying that she isn’t welcome to the queer community, fans brought attention to the singer’s long history of allyship for the LGBTQ community, including raising awareness for AIDS in the ’80s.
“Madonna was one of the few celebrities speaking out about it and using her considerable resource to destigmatize it and get things done,” a Twitter user said. “Under all the hype, she’s the real deal.”
Twitter also brought up the singer’s infamous lip-lock with Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, which was one in a handful of times the singer publicly showed affection for other women.
Recently, Madonna partnered up with rapper Tokischa for “Hung Up on Tokischa,” a new take on the former’s popular 2005 hit. In their music video, the two musicians can be seen caressing each other in suggestive positions and kissing. The duo also were seen locking lips at a fashion show in September.
If the “Vogue” singer is gay, as she suggested in her TikTok, it comes as “no surprise” for some fans simply because “NO heterosexual can serve as hard as she does.”
See more reactions to Madonna’s cryptic TikTok below.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
