On this day (April 22) in 1989, Madonna started a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Like a Prayer.” Fans and critics alike rank the song among the singer’s best work. Some even call it one of the best pop songs ever recorded. However, the song was not without controversy. Its music video sparked outrage that led to boycotts and more.
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“Like a Prayer” marked a turning point in Madonna’s career. It showed her moving away from the dance pop that brought her early hits and toward something more mature. The song, co-written with Patrick Leonard, showed fans a more personal and artistic side of the Material Girl.
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The new era also saw Madonna reach a new level of commercial success. Pepsi partnered with the pop legend for an ad featuring her and “Like a Prayer.” In short, her new era was off to a booming start. Then, she released the music video, which spawned enough controversy to push the soft drink giant to sever its partnership with her and draw the ire of the Vatican. However, the controversy didn’t hurt sales.
Madonna Causes a Stir with “Like a Prayer” Video
The music video for Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” is a stunning piece of short cinema. Helmed by Pet Sematary director Mary Lambert, the video takes on racism and religion. The video depicted burning crosses, the singer kissing a Black saint, stigmata, and other scenes that left religious and family groups up in arms.
The video was supposed to make its world premiere on Entertainment Tonight before it debuted on MTV. However, when producers saw the video, they decided to only show a snippet of it during the end credits. They knew a storm of controversy was on the horizon.
The Entertainment Tonight producers were correct. The passionate kiss between Madonna and the saint combined with her wearing a low-cut slip dress inside the church angered religious groups around the world. The allusion to stigmata and the burnging crosses in the video also sparked outrage. The video was so controversial Pope John Paul II spoke against it.
Days after the video’s premiere, Pepsi had to cancel its partnership with the singer. However, they let her keep the $5 million they paid her to make the ad. Later that year, the Vatican tried to boycott the Italian dates of Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour.
“I am aware the Vatican and certain communities are accusing my show of being sinful and blasphemous, that they are trying to keep people from seeing it. I think I’m offending certain groups, but I think that people who really understand what I’m doing aren’t offended by it,” she said at the time.
Featured Image by MediaPunch/Shutterstock
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