Madonna would like to remind you that she’s MADONNA, no matter what her face looks like

Aging is a privilege, but it’s something that no one woman can apparently do correctly. Take Madonna’s face, for example. After Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, it seems that’s all anyone has been talking about.

Madonna is 64 years old. She’s not going to look like she did in 1990. She shouldn’t look like she did in 1990. But if Madonna were to, say, “age gracefully” (whatever that really means for women), she’d be criticized for her wrinkles and grey hair. Because second to fat women, there’s nothing society hates more than old women.

But Madonna, who is a real person behind her face, a person who has given the world the gift of a legendary music career and a lifetime dedicated to various activist causes, has seen and heard what everyone is saying about her looks (like this viral tweet, for instance). And she took to Instagram to share what she has to say about it.

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“Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim—many people chose to only talk about Close-up photos of me Taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face!!” she wrote in her post.

She had presented the first Grammy awarded to a trans woman performer, which is what the moment should have been about.

“Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny That permeates the world we live in,” Madonna continues. “A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her If she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous.”

How unfortunate (and unfortunately fitting for the society we live in) that someone like Madonna can even be reduced to a caricature because she, like millions of women around the world, apparently succumbed to societal pressure and beauty standards and underwent cosmetic dermatology and/or plastic surgery procedures.

She’s MADONNA, for crying out loud. MADONNA. No matter how you feel about her music or her lifestyle, she’s so much more than her face!

“I have never apologized for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start,” she shares. “I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come. In the words of Beyonce ‘You won’t break my soul.'”

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Perhaps this could be a reminder that before we make a mockery of someone’s looks, whether they alter them or lean into them, we remember that they’re real people. And that aging, however you choose to do it, isn’t a guarantee in this life.

Take a note from Madonna and let people live.

“I look forward to many more years of subversive behavior—pushing boundaries—standing up to the patriarchy—and Most of all enjoying my life.”