One day after the bloody massacre in Paris, Madonna gave a concert in Stockholm, Sweden – a concert she says she very nearly cancelled. But though Madonna chose to perform, she paused her show to deliver a tearful speech in remembrance of those who had so recently lost their lives.
“It’s been very hard for me to get through this show and not forget what happened last night,” she told the crowd. “So I need to take this moment to acknowledge the tragedy. The tragic killings, assassinations, and the senseless ending of precious life that occurred last night in Paris.”
Madonna explains to her audience that canceling the show ultimately seemed like a form of surrender, a tacit acceptance of victory achieved through terror. Nonetheless, she describes the fraught experience of holding a concert after such an atrocity: “In many ways, I feel torn. Like, why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones?”