Entertainment

Actions

Madonna ignored friends' pleas against performing in Belgium

Posted at 10:02 AM, Nov 30, 2015
and last updated 2018-08-13 05:02:21-04

Madonna ignored calls from pals urging her to cancel her concert in Belgium after the Paris attacks because she refuses to give in to terrorists.

The Vogue singer decided against canceling any performances on her Rebel Heart Tour in the aftermath of the gun and bomb attacks in the French capital on 13 November (15), which claimed the lives of more than 130 victims.

She continued her trek through Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Italy, but she was warned against keeping her date in Antwerp, Belgium as it is closer to Paris and the gig followed a lockdown in the country's capital Brussels.

However, she took to the stage at the Sportpaleis on Saturday (28Nov15) and called out Islamic State militants, who claimed responsibility for the atrocity, branding them "motherf**kers" and saying she will not be stopped from performing.

"Many friends told me not to come to Belgium," she told the crowd. "I have not listened. I want to continue to do what I want! And do not ever tell me to stop!... There are many tragic things happening in the world. It seems there is a lot of darkness. We do not bow to fear, but to love."

Madonna continue to perform the night after the Paris attacks, but broke down in tears onstage in Sweden as she paid tribute to the victims.

"It's been very hard for me to get through this show and not forget about what happened last night", she told the audience. "So I need to take this moment to acknowledge the tragedy. The tragic killings, assassinations and the senseless ending of precious life that occurred last night in Paris.

"It's disturbed me all day and it's been very hard to get through the show because in many ways, I feel torn. Like 'Why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones?'... However, that is exactly what these people want to do, they want to shut us up. They want to silence us and we won't let them. We will never let them."