MADONNA FACES THE MUSIC

The queen of pop has drawn criticism for her physical appearance at the recent Grammys. But the superstar remains as unapologetic as ever

ARMS a blacksmith would be proud of. A butt you could bounce a R5 coin off. Thighs that send cellulite packing before it can get a pucker in.

There are many ways to describe the physical attributes Madonna has been displaying in the 40 years she’s been on the scene. And good for her – the queen of pop works hard at her age-defying body and she’s reaped the benefits.

Many middle-aged women would love to have what she has if it didn’t require so much hard work. As actress Meryl Streep once mused, “I always remember what [actress] Catherine Deneuve said: ‘After a certain age, you can have your face or you can have your ass, it’s one or the other.’ I’ve chosen my face and I’ll sit on the rest of it.”

Yet it seems Madge doesn’t want to choose. She has the ass – and now she has the face too: smooth, plump, virtually wrinkle-free, not a blemish in sight.

But Madge, have you gone too far? The 64-year-old’s almost freakishly flawless face was one of the talking points of the recent Grammy Awards. She looks like a Madonna impersonator, one critic said.

Has she been nominated for best new face? another asked.

“Madonna looks good for her age – if that age belonged to a 2  700-year-old vampire who eats babies alive,” yet another said. All pretty mean, really. Still, Madonna has never been one to stew in silence. She hit back, laying the blame on a “distorting ” camera lens. She also vented her fury at how people ignored what she said and focused on her face instead.