The superstar attracts a barrage of criticism in her bid to adopt a little sister for her Malawian son.
Madonna has been branded a manipulator, a kidnapper and a bully as her adoption of three-year-old Malawian orphan Mercy James attracts criticism from charity and humanitarian organisations around the world.
All eyes have been on the 50-year-old double-divorcee since she landed in the tiny African nation last week with her children Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and Malawian son David Banda, 3, with critics accusing the star of using her superstar status to bypass strict adoption laws to quickly snatch the child away from her culture.
Adding fuel to the controversy, Madonna’s first adopted child, David, was reunited with his father Yohane during a short visit, but the young boy could not recognise his dad and found it impossible to relate to his traditional lifestyle. The father and son had to communicate though an interpreter.
“He asked me in English who I was and what I do,” Yohane said after the meeting. “When I told him ‘I am your daddy’, he looked surprised.
“He asked whether I ride horses but I told him horses are for the rich. He asked me why I am poor.”
British newspaper The Sun revealed that Madonna had enlisted the help of two powerful politicians to bolster her bid to adopt Mercy James.
“We feel Madonna is behaving like a bully,” said the chairman of Malawi’s Human Rights Consultative Committee Undule Mwakasungula. “She has the money and the status to use her profile to manipulate, to fast-track the process.”
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