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Madonna: I don't care about the Mercy storm
Updated 12:22pm on 1 Apr 2009Madonna 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."
Reader views (3)
If the grandparents and extended family of this child were/are SO concerned about her...then why is she in an orphanage? When a child is placed in an orphanage it effectively means that the parents or legal guardian have given up their rights and no longer want or can handle the responsibility of taking care of a child....therefore, Madonna is within her rights as an able bodied, financially secure parent to adopt and, more importantly, give this child the opportunity of a life time within the confines of a loving, family environment. i hope the Malawian courts award her custody as she seems to have done a very good job in raising all her other children...and I say this as someone who is of African descent!
- Ali Sichilongo, London, 03/04/2009 10:14
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Adoption laws are unclear there but Madonna has applied for the adoption, shows up in person to plead her case, and will learn of the COURT'S decision later this week. How on EARTH is this child trafficking? These so called Human Rights activists should be ashamed of themselves. Madonna has manage to bring attention to the problems facing Malawi, started a charity, made a documentary on the issues, and built a school. Hardly using celebrity status to grab a child and run is it? It is humanitarian, and everyone and their mother is adding comments for publicity. At least her publicity is put to some use.
- Simon, London, 01/04/2009 17:40
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As much as I dislike Madonna, it is extremely hypocritical of Bamusi to say '...it amounts to child trafficking or kidnapping'. It seems in both the cases of David and Mercy, they were given up freely by parents/grandparents who could not afford to take care of them. In the rest of the world, an orphanage does not equal a day care centre or camp where you can deposit and take out kids as and when you like if you are a relation. Why do these two cases appear to suggest the Malawian people think otherwise?
- L, London, 01/04/2009 14:19
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