Madonna has been given extra security on her world tour after receiving a torrent of hatred online, after she called for peace in Israel’s long-running bloody conflict with the Palestinians.
The barrage of abuse has meant that security has been stepped up around the pop superstar as she continues her current Celebration Tour, which saw the 65-year-old perform in London last week.
She told the sell-out crowd: ‘What’s happening right now between Israel and Palestine, obviously is heartbreaking, and nobody wants to see what’s happening.
‘I see children being thrown off motorcycles, kidnapped, babies being decapitated, children at peace raves being shot and killed, what the f**k is going on in the world?’
The singer added she was ‘frightened and scared’ by the escalating tensions but she said it would be ‘irresponsible’ not to speak out on the issue.
Safety: Madonna has been given extra security on her tour after receiving a torrent of hatred online, after she called for peace in Israel’s long-running bloody conflict with the Palestinians (pictured on stage at London’s O2 Arena last week)
Concerns: The barrage of abuse has meant that security has been stepped up around the pop superstar as she continues her current Celebration Tour (pictured on stage at London’s O2 Arena last week)
The Like A Prayer star’s comments sparked a furious reaction among some pro-Palestine supporters.
Numerous social media posts branded her a ‘Zionist witch’ and a ‘criminal’ in relation to her remarks about the massacre committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
The singer is understood to have been left distraught after numerous photographs of dead or injured babies were also posted to her on social media, with some comments questioning her ability to be a mother.
Other posts sent to her official social media platforms taunted Madonna over her fascination with kabbalah, an ancient Jewish mystical tradition.
The pop star was born and raised as a Catholic, but developed an interest in Jewish mystics after she was introduced to texts by a friend.
In posts seen by the Mail on Sunday she has been labelled a ‘kabbalah b****’ by anti-Israel fanatics.
Friends told the Mail on Sunday that Madonna was ‘devastated and appalled’ by the response to her intervention over the bloody conflict in the Middle East, particularly as she had attempted not to take sides in her speech.
Meanwhile, a senior music industry figure involved with the mammoth tour confirmed that security had been ‘stepped up and bolstered’ at Madonna’s gigs over fears for safety in the midst of the conflict.
The annual MTV European Music Awards (EMAs), scheduled to take place in Paris on November 5, was postponed last week, over claims a celebratory event did not seem suitable at this time.
But it is understood that security concerns around the artists also led to the decision to call the event off.
Madonna is set to continue her tour in Antwerp, Belgium on Sunday.
Her tour managers are confident it will not need to be cancelled.
War: Smoke and flames billow after Israeli forces struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City, October 7