Madonna has accused Radio 1 of refusing to play her new single because of her age.
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The pop icon, who turned 56 in August, released ‘Living For Love’ last month, though Radio 1 listeners were probably unaware of this fact, because they refused to add it to their playlist.
Madonna has now suggested that this wasn’t because of the song, which received airplay on other stations such as Capital, but because of her advancing years, telling The Sun: “I thought it was so discriminatory and unfair.
Madonna
“We’ve made so many advances in other areas - civil rights, gay rights - but ageism is still an area that’s taboo and not talked about and dealt with.”
She goes on to claim: “I’m so stupid. I didn’t know it was anything to do with my age. I just do my work.
“My manager said to me, ‘If you’re not in your twenties, it’s hard... if you’re in your fifties, you can forget it’.”
Radio 1 have denied any ageism on their part in a statement, insisting: “Radio 1 does not ever ban artists.
“Tracks are chosen on musical merit and their relevance to our young audience on a case-by-case basis and while around 40 per cent of the country’s 15 to 29-year-olds tune in to Radio 1 each week, an artist’s age is never a factor.”
‘Living For Love’ missed out on the UK top 20 upon its release, despite a high-profile performance of the song at the Brit Awards that had everyone talking (though probably not for the reason Madonna would have liked…).
Despite a lukewarm chart performance for her new album's lead single, 'Rebel Heart' has received mostly positive reviews, and looks set to top the UK album chart this weekend.