Earlier in March, Madonna was embroiled in controversy after she called out a fan for not standing during a concert, only to realise she was in a wheelchair. The fan has now publicly responded to the viral video and defended the singer’s actions.
Vanessa Gorman — the fan Madonna called out during one of the concerts in Vancouver — has defended the singer, labelling the hard-to-watch encounter as a mistake.
“Some people are in wheelchairs and can stand — she has no idea I was paralysed,” Gorman told TMZ.
Per the publication, Gorman, who became a paraplegic from a motor vehicle accident in 1999, continued to say that she “doesn’t think Madonna was being mean” and that she is not offended by the singer’s action.
Although she was not offended by the encounter, she did admit that she was “shocked by the concert callout”, telling TMZ that she was in a bright pink wheelchair and “figured Madonna could see it clear as day”.
During her chat with the publication, Gorman applauded the “Vogue” singer for apologising into the microphone after realising her situation.
Why did Madonna call out Gorman during a concert?
About a week ago, the “Vogue” singer was slammed on social media after she called out a fan for not standing, only to realise she was in a wheelchair.
In a video shared to X, the singer attempted to hype up the crowd during The Celebration Tour. Madonna then noticed one fan in the audience who was sitting and decided to call them out on the microphone.
“What are you doing sitting down over there?” Madonna asked whilst physically pointing out the fan.
After repeating the question to the fan while walking over to her, the singer realised that the concertgoer was in a wheelchair.
“Oh, Okay. Politically incorrect. Sorry about that. I’m glad you’re here,” Madonna said after awkwardly walking back to her mic stand.
After the video made its rounds across multiple social media platforms, many viewers slammed the pop star for the interaction, with some folks slamming her apology altogether.
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Madonna has yet to publicly comment on the backlash she faced following her viral interaction with Gorman.
Image source: Getty Images / Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation
