Madonna Sparks Controversy by Sharing AI Photos With Pope Francis

Madonna has stoked controversy after she shared two AI-generated photos of herself and Pope Francis. The 66-year-old Queen of Pop, whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone, stirred fans when she uploaded the photos, created by AI digital artist Rick Dick, to her Instagram Story on Friday, Dec. 13.

In the first of the two controversial images, the “Material Girl” singer could be seen getting close with the “Pope,” who was holding her arm and had his nose pressed against the singer’s cheek, while wearing a black lace dress. She captioned the post, “Going into the weekend like… … …” and later returned to the social media platform to share a second photo, this one showing her n a black bustier as Pope Francis wrapped an arm around her waist. “Feels good to be seen,” she captioned the image.

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A post shared by RickDick (@rickdick_)

The two images were also shared by Rick Dick on his own account with the caption, “MA.I.DONNA AND THE POPE. Thank you @madonna.”

The two photos quickly stirred backlash, with one person commented on the post, “This is ridiculously disrespectful.” A second person wrote, “Do not post things that offend God and the faith of millions of people, have more respect, do not repost lies, and do not create lies with artificial intelligence,” as somebody else commented, “It’s funny and pathetic at the same time.” Another added, “Nonsense, sad and a useless use of modern tools. What is the message? what do you want to say?” Others labeled the images “disgusting” and “creepy.”

Madonna has a long history with the Catholic church. Raised in a devout Catholic household in Michigan, the singer has frequently sparked backlash over her use of Christian imagery. Madonna even sparked protests from religious groups following the 1989 release of her “Like a Prayer” music video, which featured imagery of burning crosses and the seduction of a saint. The full-length music video was dropped by MTV, and a Pepsi commercial featuring the song was banned. Just a year later, her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour was boycotted by the pope at the time, Pope John Paul II.

She told Harper’s Bazaar in 2013, “I have a funny relationship with religion. I’m a big believer in ritualistic behaviour as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody. But I’m not a big fan of rules. And yet we cannot live in a world without order. But for me, there is a difference between rules and order… Yes, I like to provoke; it’s in my DNA. But nine times out of 10, there’s a reason for it.”

Speaking to Vanity Fair Italia in 2023, she added, “My relationship with religion today? Cultivating my spiritual practices. Practices that are valid for me and do not necessarily have to be valid for everyone. I think everyone should do it because I find it important to pray and have a connection with the soul, with spiritual strength, call it what you want. I think it is important because I believe in the idea of something bigger, something higher, something metaphysical that is beyond us but that keeps us all together.”