It’s a tale as old as time: a woman is living her life and getting older, and people are judging her for it. On Sunday, September 27, Madonna performed at the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time in more than two decades. She had an amazing night, taking home seven awards. Apparently, some people were really bothered by that—but the View co-hosts have jumped to her defense.
On social media, critics complained about the way the 68-year-old dressed, suggesting that her outfits and performances were too risqué for her age. A few of the haters questioned whether she was wearing a diaper on stage. And some people suggested that she should retire from performing altogether.
But to a lot of people, this all just sounds a lot like ageism.
Which is exactly what the co-hosts of the View discussed during a recent episode. One of the main takeaways they had after watching Madonna perform and seeing how people reacted to it is that women just can’t win.
When discussing the judgement that comes with being a woman in the spotlight, the co-hosts talked about both Madonna and actress Jasmine Guy, who has reprised her role as Whitley Gilbert in the A Different World sequel at age 64.
On the show, Whoopi Goldberg read a post that Jasmine wrote in response to the criticism directed at her. “The internet can be brutal to women as we grow older,” Jasmine wrote in a recent Instagram post. “It asks us to celebrate life while criticizing every sign that we’ve lived it.”
And it really does seem that way when you look at how people have been talking about both Jasmine and Madonna.
Whoopi noted that both women are “gorgeous.”
And co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that the unkind comments directed at both women show that the hate is less about how they look or how they’re acting, and more about the fact that they’re getting older in the public eye.
“It shows that there’s just no win for women,” she said. “Madonna’s being criticized for being too overtly sexual and trying to look too young, and Jasmine is being criticized for trying to age gracefully.”
So, what do critics want, exactly? Alyssa added, “You can’t win no matter which direction you take.”
Sara Haines made the argument that those who leave nasty comments like the ones directed at Madonna and Jasmine do not actually know what’s going on in their lives anyway, so who are they to judge? She also claimed that “the types of people that are going to go (online) and rage post are not the ones in a good mental state,” and so it’s best to not engage with them at all.
Besides, can’t we just let women live their lives?
Unfortunately, some of the criticism directed at women as they get older is coming from other women. Co-host Ana Navarro touched on this when she thought back to how she watched a recent Ricky Martin performance and thought about how he looked so good for his age. She found herself comparing herself to him, especially considering the fact that they’re around the same age. But then she stopped herself.
“Then I see all this stuff on Madonna,” she recalled. “I’m like, OK, leave women alone.” Sunny Hostin noted that it’s sad and disappointing that people view aging as a negative thing when it’s actually a “blessing.”
“What’s so sad about all of this that’s going on with women and aging is, what is the alternative?” she questioned. “… How dare you shame someone for trying to age well and beautifully and just live. We need to realize what a blessing it is to be able to get to be that age.”
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