Madonna says phones ruined her relationship with her children.
The 60-year-old star has children Lourdes, 22, Rocco, 18, David and Mercy, both 13, and Esther and Stella, both six, and admitted she regrets ever giving phones to her older kids.
Speaking in the June issue of British Vogue, she said: "I made a mistake when I gave my older children phones when they were 13. It ended my relationship with them, really. Not completely, but it became a very, very big part of their lives. They became too inundated with imagery and started to compare themselves to other people, and that’s really bad for self-growth."
Madonna also claims Lourdes is more talented than she ever was but says social media and the wealth she has grown up with have stopped her from pursuing her passions.
She said: "Lola is insanely talented. I’m green with envy because she’s incredible at everything she does – she’s an incredible dancer, she’s a great actress, she plays the piano beautifully, she’s way better than me in the talent department. But she doesn’t have the same drive, and again, I feel social media plagues her and makes her feel like, ‘People are going to give me things because I’m her daughter.’ I try to give her examples of other children of celebrities like Zoë Kravitz, for instance, who have to work through that ‘Oh yeah, you’re the daughter of…’ – and then eventually you are taken seriously for what you do. You just have to keep going. But does she have the same drive that I have? No. But she also has a mother, and I didn’t. She grew up with money, and I didn’t. So everything is going to be different. But what can I do? I can’t fixate on it. I just have to do my best."
And Madonna – who has two biological children, Lourdes and Rocco, and four adopted children, David, Mercy, Esther and Stella – feels that David is the most similar to her of all of her offspring.
She said: "What he has more than anything is focus and determination. I’m pretty sure he got it from me. He’s the one I have the most in common with. I feel like he gets me; he has more of my DNA than any of my children so far. Let’s see what happens – it’s still early days for everyone."
Madonna also spoke about her career battles, saying: "People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it’s that I’m not pretty enough, I don’t sing well enough, I’m not talented enough, I’m not married enough, and now it’s that I’m not young enough. So they just keep trying to find a hook to hang their beef about me being alive on. Now I’m fighting ageism, now I’m being punished for turning 60."
And she used the interview to deny a feud with Lady Gaga, saying: "People got very excited about that we were enemies, when we never were enemies."
This is Madonna’s first British Vogue cover since February 1989 and she has been photographed for the magazine by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
See the full feature in the June issue of British Vogue, available on digital download and on newsstands Friday 10th May. www.vogue.co.uk
Madonna says phones ruined relationship with her children
