Catholic-bashing Madonna has a disco-mirrored cross to bear - not to mention a prickly crown of thorns - which she uses to crucify herself in her new international tour.
The singer's controversial stunt stunned the crowd as she kicked off her Confessions tour in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Just as she started to croon the sultry ballad "Live to Tell," Madge suddenly appeared onstage as a modern-day, Christ-like figure being "crucified" on a giant, mirrored cross.
To complete the look, the singer wore a crown of 50 thorns over flowing, golden locks.
The stunt immediately drew protests.
"When the Material Girl first embraced kabbala, we thought her newfound faith would inspire her to show some respect for religion," said the Catholic League's Bill Donohue. "But I guess you can't teach an old pop star new tricks."
The Church of England, in Madonna's adopted country, where she lives with her British hubby and two kids, also ripped the singer. "Why would someone with so much talent seem to feel the need to promote herself by offending so many people?" church officials asked in a statement.
Industry experts say the raunchy tour - which is peddling tickets at up to $380 a pop - could be the highest-grossing ever. Billboard magazine says the overall gross could hit $200 million. The 47-year-old singer has already sold out her six dates at Madison Square Garden this summer.
Watching the muscle-bound Material Girl strut her stuff in L.A. were such celebs as Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Salma Hayek.
Comics Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell, as well as O'Donnell's partner, also made the scene - although at one point, Rosie reportedly upgraded herself to a premium spot on the floor, leaving her lover alone in the stands.
The kooky-for-kabbala Madonna even had her guru, Rabbi Yehuda Berg, in attendance.
Berg watched his star pupil sweat and gyrate in thigh-high, spiked-heel, black boots and skintight S&M outfits as she straddled a crystal-rivet-studded saddle on a dancing pole to belt out such oldies as "Like a Virgin."
The singer performed other throwbacks, including "Lucky Star" and "Ray of Light," while touting her newer stuff, such as the single "Hung Up" and "Future Lovers," from her latest work, "Confessions on a Dance Floor."
It appeared that Madonna's tumble from a horse last year wasn't far from her mind, either.
After popping out of a $2 million-plus, Swarovski-studded ball, a whip-bearing Madonna rode the back of a muzzled male dancer.
X-rays of her once-broken bones also were flashed overhead.
source : ny post
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