Cyndi Lauper criticized Madonna’s speech at the Women’s March on Watch What Happens Live Wednesday night.
Host Andy Cohen asked the 63-year-old singer about her thoughts on the profanity-filled rant and Lauper said she was glad Madonna was there, but thought her speech could have been better.
Madonna told the crowd she was angry after the election and had thought “an awful lot about blowing up the White House.”
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Lauper said, “I don’t think that it served our purpose because anger is not better than clarity and humanity. That is what opens people’s minds. When you want to change people’s minds, you have to share your real story.”
As a counter example, the Girls Just Want To Have Fun singer went on to praise Scarlett Johansson for her personal speech about using Planned Parenthood services as a teen.
“She shared her story. It was clear and it was eloquent. Yelling doesn’t. It just jacks people up but it doesn’t communicate any type of humanity or any kind of story that would open another person’s mind,” Lauper said.
READ MORE: Piers Morgan, Newt Gingrich call for Madonna’s arrest after Women’s March speech
Some people on Twitter agreed with Lauper’s criticism.
Others did not approve of her comments.
READ MORE: Madonna banned by Texas radio station after Women’s March speech
Lauper is the first woman in the entertainment industry to criticize Madonna’s speech. Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, American politician Newt Gingrich and radio station HITS 105 in Texarkana, Texas have all voiced opinions about the singer’s performance onstage.
Morgan criticized Madonna on his show, saying she’s “fuelling an idea” to “assassinate” President Trump. He took to Twitter to condemn the singer’s outburst.
In reference to a story about burnt toast posing a cancer risk, Morgan later joked: “I’d rather eat burnt toast and die than listen to Madonna.”
Gingrich took issue with Madonna’s speech; on Monday morning’s FOX and Friends, he said she should be arrested.
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In a statement issued Jan. 24, the Texarkana classic hits station said Madonna’s songs would be removed from the station’s local programming “indefinitely.”
“Banning all Madonna songs at HITS 105 is not a matter of politics, it’s a matter of patriotism. It just feels wrong to us to be playing Madonna songs and paying her royalties when the artist has shown un-American sentiments. If all stations playing Madonna took their lead from us, that would send a powerful economic message to Madonna,” the station’s general manager, Terry Thomas, said in a statement.
Madonna has defended her speech by explaining that she does not encourage violence and felt that parts of her speech were taken “wildly out of context.”
Lauper appeared on Watch What Happens Live along with Rod Stewart. The two recently announced plans for a joint American tour, which starts in Hollywood, Fla., on July 6.
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