ZURICH – Madonna made her first public comments regarding the sentencing of Russian punk band Pussy Riot during the Zurich, Switzerland stop of her 2012 MDNA tour.
The band received a two-year jail term Friday over controversial hooliganism charges. The Grammy-winning pop star mentioned her outrage four times during the two-hour performance saying she was “angry” twice over the news and then stopping the show formally another two times to address it again.
During one of those stoppages Madonna said, “You must know by now I am truly upset, devastated and disgusted [sic] by the sentencing of Pussy Riot. I am dedicating the rest of my life to fighting all kinds of discrimination. and I truly believe I can do that through my music and with these people around me and my art. God gave all of us a gift right? And we can each fight this in our own way, yes?”
Later on, Madonna led the packed Letzigrund Stadium crowd in a change of “Free. Pussy. Riot.”
You can watch some of Madonna’s comments in the exclusive video embedded at the top of this page.
Pussy Riot were initially arrested in March after staging a guerrilla performance in Moscow’s main cathedral where they sang a “pun prayer” asking the Virgin Mary to save the country from newly elected president Vladimir Putin. The resulting prosecution and trial has been condemned by foreign governments, Amnesty International and musicians including Paul McCartney and Bjork. Madonna wore a jacket with the words “Pussy Riot” on her back during her August 7 concert in Moscow. It is believed the band will attempt to appeal the sentence.
Madonna will finish the European portion of her MDNA tour in Nice on August 21. The first U.S. date is August 28 in Philadelphia.