In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Madonna opens up about her 30-plus years in the music industry, revealing a personal detail about first moving to New York City no one saw coming.
The "Vogue" singer penned a feature for the fashion magazine's November issue. She opens up about the risks she's taken in her career, gives advice about how to be daring without giving "b*** jobs to Evian bottles," and why living in New York didn't welcome her with "open arms."
Below are snippets of what Madonna has to say in Harper's Bazaar:
How NYC 'treated' here when she first move to the big city:
"New York wasn't everything I thought it would be. It did not welcome me with open arms. The first year, I was held up at gunpoint. Raped on the roof of a building I was dragged up to with a knife in my back, and had my apartment broken into three times. I don't know why; I had nothing of value after they took my radio the first time."
How Madonna embraced nonconformity as a teen:
"When you're 15, this can feel a little uncomfortable. Teenagers want to fit in on one hand and be rebellious on the other. Drinking beer and smoking weed in the parking lot of my high school was not my idea of being rebellious, because that's what everybody did. And I never wanted to do what everybody did. I thought it was cooler to not shave my legs or under my arms.
"I mean, why did God give us hair there anyways? Why didn't guys have to shave there? Why was it accepted in Europe but not in America? No one could answer my questions in a satisfactory manner, so I pushed the envelope even further. I refused to wear makeup and tied scarves around my head like a Russian peasant. I did the opposite of what all the other girls were doing, and I turned myself into a real man repeller. I dared people to like me and my nonconformity."
How the pop queen is doing today:
"Ten years later, here I am, divorced and living in New York. I have been blessed with four amazing children. I try to teach them to think outside the box. To be daring. To choose to do things because they are the right thing to do, not because everybody else is doing them. I have started making films, which is probably the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done. I am building schools for girls in Islamic countries and studying the Qur'an. I think it is important to study all the holy books. As my friend Yaman always tells me, a good Muslim is a good Jew, and a good Jew is a good Christian, and so forth. I couldn't agree more. To some people this is a very daring thought."
Read Madonna's full feature here.
