Madonna, who recently said she tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, and photographer Steven Klein were criticized after appearing at a birthday party for Klein which was broadcast over Zoom and included several other guests including musician and performer Joey Arias and party promoter and hostess Susanne Bartsch.
Page Six reports: “The aging Material Girl, 61, joked that her birthday-boy pal, photographer Steven Klein, was being honored with a ‘COVID cake' during the live-streamed private gig, reported The Sun of Britain, Video and photos showed the ‘Like a Virgin' singer getting up close and personal with Klein, 55, while hugging him, according to the Daily Mail. It was unclear how many people attended the party, but there were at least eight, the Mail said.”
Manager Michele Ruiz, who posted a screenshot video of the party online, defended Madonna, Klein, and the crew, writing, “P.S. This was an online party. She was in her own home w/her family and crew that she has been quarantining with. There were about 5 people that came to her home (or Steven's?) to celebrate Steven's bday, and all of these people have been quarantined for over a month as well. Please stop the Madness – she would never put herself or her children at risk!!!”
Klein also defended the bash, writing, “We have all been quarantined together for over a month. We take it very seriously.”
Followers didn't believe him, accusing him of lying and criticizing the group for “not taking social distancing as well as you should.”
Late last week, in one of her ‘Quarantine Diaries', Madonna said she had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies and said, “So tomorrow, I'm just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I'm gonna roll down the window and I'm gonna breathe in — I'm gonna breathe in the COVID-19 air.”
In March, Madonna called coronavirus “the great equalizer” while sitting in a bath surrounded by rose petals.
Said Madonna: “That's the thing about COVID-19. It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell. It's the great equalizer, and what's terrible about it is what's great about it. What's terrible about it is it's made us all equal in many ways — and what's wonderful about it is that it's made us all equal in many ways. Like I used to say at the end of “Human Nature” every night, we're all in the same boat, and if the ship goes down, we're all going down together.”
