'This was an eye-opening experience. A real low point in my life'
When she adopted David Banda from Malawi in 2006, Madonna was criticized in her son’s birth country as well as at home in the UK.
The singer, now 55, was blasted by the African country’s government when her request to adopt meant waiving Malawi's ruling not to allow foreign adoptions and British tabloids dismissed her as just another celebrity aiming for a ‘rainbow family.’
Some of David’s relatives accused Madonna of ‘baby-snatching,’ suggesting they were made to sign papers they couldn’t read or understand.
'Trying to save a child's life was not something I thought I would be punished for'
Now that David is eight-years-old, Madonna has spoken out about the criticism she faced, describing the period as ‘a real low point.’
Speaking to a US magazine, Madonna said: ‘I didn't know that trying to adopt a child was going to land me in another sh*t storm. But it did.
‘I was accused of kidnapping, child trafficking, using my celebrity muscle to jump ahead in the line, bribing government officials, witchcraft, you name it. Certainly I had done something illegal!’
She went on: ‘This was an eye-opening experience. A real low point in my life. I could get my head around people giving me a hard time for simulating masturbation onstage or publishing my Sex book, even kissing Britney Spears at an awards show, but trying to save a child's life was not something I thought I would be punished for.
She added: ‘Friends tried to cheer me up by telling me to think of it all as labor pains that we all have to go through when we give birth. This was vaguely comforting. In any case, I got through it. I survived.’
‘One of the many things I learned from all of this: If you aren't willing to fight for what you believe in, then don't even enter the ring,’ she added.
Madonna went on to adopt a second child from Malawi, a daughter called Mercy James, in 2009.