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Madonna: I don't care about the Mercy storm
Last updated at 12:22pm on 01.04.09Madonna will not be deterred by the controversy over her attempt to adopt a second child from Malawi, she has told friends.
The 50-year-old has faced fierce opposition to her plan to take motherless four-year-old Mercy James to New York, with one critic calling it "child trafficking".
But the singer emailed British pal Ben Fellowes to say: "Let the storm commence."
Walkabout: Mercy James, four, pictured with Madonna in Malawi for the first time
Madonna, who has established a Kabbalah school in the region, provoked anger when she adopted David Banda, now three, from the African country in 2006.
Film-maker Mr Fellowes, 34, told the Daily Mirror: "She knew exactly what she was walking into.
She was well aware people would start sniping about it. Once Madonna has put her mind to something she achieves it, and this adoption is no different.
"She told me it was very important that David had a sister, she had unconditional love to give another child and was going to jump through hoops to get her."
Madonna, in Malawi with David, her daughter Lourdes, 12, and son Rocco, eight, will learn on Friday whether her adoption bid for Mercy is successful.
Today her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg hit out at accusations that the star was using her fame to " bully" cour ts into fast-tracking the case.
She said: "The adoption process for Mercy began over a year ago when Madonna met her on one of her visits to Malawi. The connection was instant and profound.
"She is not skirting any legal issues in her application to adopt and is looking to provide a loving family environment and the best education and healthcare possible for a child who has been in an orphanage since her birth."
But local human rights activist Mavuto Bamusi said: "In the absence of clear laws, what is happening in this case amounts to child trafficking or kidnapping."
