What singletons can learn from Madonna

Times

...I say "ficando", you say "hooking up", she says "dating for the past year"

As ever, Madonna finds herself at the cutting edge of sexual politics. Not by being called Madonna and having the chutzpah to sleep with a chap called Jesus (although, top marks for best fetish yet). No, her Madgesty scores zeitgeist points for the terms under which she is sleeping with said Brazilian; namely, by imposing no terms whatsoever.

When news of the affair broke, a Brazilian website reported: “Everyone knows they are ficando – a Portuguese expression that means they are kissing and doing other things, but without any obligation of being faithful or getting into a relationship.” There is no direct translation of the term ficando because what it describes is merely the single status quo. I am ficando, you are ficando, who among us is not?

For single relationships present less an etiquette problem than an issue of basic definition. Time was, when the classic scenario involved waking up with someone, and, if you were still waking up with them a few months later, you were “going out”. These days, you could be hooking up, friends that shag, about to tie the knot, or anything in between pretty much indefinitely. Those unsophisticated enough to seek to impose clarity will be deemed bullying, crassly naive.

The problem with such situations is that, as the Gauls have it, there is one who kisses, one who offers the cheek. Or, in British parlance: there will always be a stalker and a stalkee.

Madonna Babies

Source: Madonna Online

Demo of a new song for Madonna's GH album - named "Revolver"?

Here are 2 clips that are from a demo version of a new song for Madonna GH album. Lil Wayne is not part of the finale result; it's a solo track. It's rumored that the song called "Revovlver". That's the one that's produced by DJ Frank E.

Clip 1
Clip 2

Spotted: Madonna at the Fischerspooner concert - 07/05/09

M, with Jesus, Lourdes and Klein enjoying Fischerspooner's show at the balcony of the Music Hall of Williamsburg Thursday night.

NY Magazine reports: "Madonna was in attendance (hanging off of some man, Lourdes knows who). Spooner, surely to her dismay, made Madonna’s presence known — probably mischievously, as he also asked, seemingly with mock surprise, where she’d gone to once the set was over. Madge ducked out after a few songs."


Photo: allaboutmadonna (thanks to robste/flickr)


Photos of the show

Video: Meeting Madonna’s New Neighbors

NY Magazine



Ever since we heard the news that Madonna was going to move to East 81st Street, a part of the Upper East Side that some snooty neighbors deemed a little too downmarket for an international superstar (despite the fact that she dropped a whopping $40 million on the place), we'd been wondering what her neighbors thought. Would they welcome her with open arms? Or would they merely be dismayed that her presence would also cause a swarm of unwanted paparazzi? Did they have advice for her? Or would they just shout her song lyrics at her as she walked by with her bodyguards? Naturally, we sent Tim Murphy to find out.

Madonna’s hot, again

Times

The Mail’s campaign against womankind has hit a new peak in its coverage of Madonna’s not-horrible desire to adopt a Malawian child, Mercy. On Monday, Madonna attended a high-profile fashion event in New York, wearing an amusingly silly couture outfit by Louis Vuitton. “Is that really a suitable dress for someone trying to win an adoption case, Madonna?” screeched the Mail. “She wore an outfit that breached the limits of vulgarity, and displayed her typically arrogant thinking.” The Mail seemed to believe that the items of clothing automatically made her unfit for motherhood. Back in Malawi, Mercy’s biological father — who emerged at the exact point that a multimillionairess announced she wanted to adopt the child — commented: “I don’t think Madonna . . . portrays good morals. In Malawi, women respect themselves. Cultured women do not go about half-naked. Spare my Mercy that scandal.” Conventional Wisdom feels discomfited living in a country where the views of one of the biggest-selling newspapers accord with those of an ill-educated Malawian security guard who abandoned his unborn child and its mother the moment he learnt of the pregnancy. Still, the magazine’s nice and glossy, isn’t it?

More tickets for Helsinky on sale on Monday

Madonna Tribe

"Due to the overwhelming" demand 5,000 extra tickets for the August 6 concert at the West Harbour in Helsinky will be on sale next Monday , May 11.

2,000 tickets will grant access to Pitch A (Golden Circle) priced at 119 euro and 3,000 for Pitch C priced 109 euro.
Tickets will be available to purchase from the Lippupiste sales points, by phone and online at www.lippupiste.fi at 9 am local time.

Pitch A tickets will be limited to 2 tickets per customer.
Pitch C tickets will be limited to 6 tickets per customer.

A-Rod Author: "He Fell In Love With Madonna"

Radar Online (watch video)

He doesn't have a hole in his swing, but Alex Rodriguez might have had a hole in his heart vacated after his relationship with Madonna fizzled last year, according to the author of a salicious new biography about the three-time MVP.

"He fell in love with Madonna," Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts told Fox And Friends Tuesday. "It changed his entire life -- he went from a family man to Madonna's boyfriend."

Roberts said the third baseman's infatuation with the singer was based on a longtime admiration he had for her and her music as a kid growing up in South Florida.

The book, which hit stores Monday, also chronicles the slugger's alleged longtime use of steroids and insatiable sexual appetite.

Quick Updates!

* More from the Costume gala - The NY Daily News, Gatercrasher reports that "Madonna spent her evening seductively dancing with at least five men — including Kanye — all while glaring at fellow A-Rod ex, Bethenny Frankel.

* Glamour trio! It was a POWER table at Monday night's Met Costume gala when Madonna, Rihanna and Victoria Beckham shared a table. While NO ONE knows what they were talking about Madonna was DEEP in conversation with Rihanna for 45 minutes.

* SEEKING ADVICE: The star-packed Costume Institute gala included tons of celebs, such as Jessica Biel, Kate Moss, Mary-Kate Olsen, Justin Timberlake, Anne Hathaway and ... Madonna. The Material Mom turned maternal toward another guest, Rihanna. A BZ spy overheard Rihanna seeking advice from Madonna on dealing with fame.The young R&B star asked the older superstar when ''things might die down'' after the firestorm of paparazzi and tabloid frenzy she's experienced in wake of her alleged beating at the hands of Chris Brown.

''Never,'' said Madonna without missing a beat. ''Unless you decide to give up you career and retire to a remote island someplace. ... Once you're in their sights, you're stuck with the [plural expletive].''

* Madonna, now the well-paid muse of Louis Vuitton, was working it nearby with a muse of her own, Jesus Luz. When Harvey Weinstein walked up, she introduced them. “Hi, Harvey, this is Jesus,” she said, pronouncing it gee-zus. “I didn’t pick the name.” “But it is kind of a bonus,” said a guest nearby.

* NY Post:



* Madonna was at the 50th anniversary for The Four Seasons restaurant on Tuesday. Other guests: The Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton and Mary J. Blige.

* Newspapers covering the gala event:

Lady Gaga 'Humbled' By Madonna Coming To Her Show

MTV

Queen of Pop brought daughter Lourdes to singer's New York concert.

If you think that Lady Gaga has gotten used to being a pop superstar, think again. No one was as surprised as the New York City native herself to see that the Queen of Pop, Madonna, took some time out of her busy schedule to catch the "Poker Face" singer's show at New York's Terminal 5

on Saturday.

"I was very humbled that Madonna came to the show," Gaga told MTV News on Monday. "And I had been hearing all week that she was going to come, and I was like, 'Oh, OK,' and I didn't want to talk about it or tell anyone 'cause I thought it was kind that she would want to come at all."

What made it even more surprising for Gaga was that she didn't think Madonna had any idea who she was, despite her hit songs and performance on "American Idol" earlier this season. But what really pleased the singer was seeing that Madge made her concert a family night.

"I was really excited to see that [Madonna's daughter] Lourdes was there, and that made me really happy 'cause during the show I noticed some beautiful spirit of a girl dancing," she recalled. "And I didn't know who it was and I just kept waving to her."

It wasn't until the set was over that she learned that the girl was Madonna's daughter. "Then when the show was over, I said, 'Oh, there's this sweet, young girl up there, and she was dancing her pants off.' And someone said, 'Lourdes had green pants on.' And I was like, 'Oh my God, it was Lourdes and she was dancing.' It really got me going. [Madonna's] a good mom, so it's nice."

Gaga will also be happy to hear that the legendary singer slipped out unnoticed. "I was hoping and praying she would get out safely," she said. "If she got spotted she would have been trampled like the queen she is."

Tori Amos gets what Madonna is about

Out.com

You worked with Christian Lamb, who filmed Madonna’s last tour, on the visualettes.
It took us a year and a half to film this stuff and I’d I get a call from him and he’d say, “I’m going to be filming with Madonna here, can you fly in?” And I’d find myself scheduling my life around Miss Thing -- without her even knowing it, of course. And I’m sitting there and the husband is saying, “Where are you going?” And I said, “I don’t know! Where’s Madonna?” And he said, “You’re not serious!” And I said, “I am serious!”

[Laughing] Did you hang out with her?
Of course not! No! No! No! Two lionesses, different parts of the Serengeti. And it’s fine -- I have great respect for her and her work ethic and what she does -- I do. But I remember this little artist who has sold many records herself coming up to me and she said, “I went up to Madonna and I told her how much she meant to me.” She’s sitting there confessing this to me a couple of years ago and I’m thinking Stupid!

Why would she do that? Why? Why!
Why! And I’ve become like Mother Confessor and she’s sitting there with me in the British Airways first class lounge and I’m thinking how the fuck did I end up with this while she’s having a hang-over and she says, “I just have to tell you…so I say to Madonna, ‘You have meant so much to me and to my career…’” And I’m just waiting for it and she says, “Madonna just looks at my shoes and says, ‘Those are so last season.’”

[Laughs]
And I said, “But why did you go to her with no self-worth?” Because she’s going to hate that! “If you really have been influenced by her, so-and-so,” I said, “Then look in the mirror and be the gorgeous women you are! You don’t need the approval.” And come on -- Madonna’s going to smell the blood.

She’s ready to lap it up.
And I said, “You set yourself up for that one.” And this singer said, “But I just didn’t know why it was necessary for her to respond like that.” And I told her, “It wasn’t necessary but you set yourself up. Take some responsibility!” Tongue up the ass – it’s just so boring.

Thoughts on Madonna’s Ingenious Met-Gala Outfit

NY Magazine

Models, shmodels. Last night's Costume Institute Gala, as many papers this morning would have you believe, was all about Madonna. Screw the vintage Scavullo photographs of Lauren Hutton, screw Brooke Shields's infamous Calvins from the eighties, screw Gisele in her fabric scrap of a minidress, but most of all, screw Kate Moss's turban. None of those things matter when Madonna shows up looking like a cleaning lady moonlighting as a stripper who washed her Xanax down with one too many margaritas before she changed outfits. And it was a genius, if not very attractive, fashion moment for her and Marc Jacobs, who designed the Louis Vuitton ensemble. Because on a night dedicated to the world's most beautiful women, no one — especially a non-model — could win by trying to look the most beautiful. So looking a bit drunk before you actually got drunk wasn't a bad way to steal attention from Kate Moss and her paltry headpiece. And she got plenty of attention. Here's what some other news outlets thought of Madonna's very special ensemble.

• The L.A. Times thought Madge looked "ready for Neverland ... like the love child of Tinkerbell and Captain Hook." The paper asks if Madonna's hat was wackier than the one Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the Sex and the City movie premiere in London. We'd say so, but what say you? [Dish Rag/LAT]

• The London Times said the ball "ensured many new entries into the best and worst-dressed celebrity lists," and cited Madonna as the "worst offender." Her bunny ears made her "look more like a glamorous cleaning lady than a fashion icon." [Times UK]

• British Marie Claire noted without comment that Madonna's outfit "brought out her 80s side," and suggested the pop star used it as a distraction from the difficulty she's having adopting Mercy James from Malawi. The magazine also notes that Jesus Luz, who attended as Madge's date, looked "super suave." [British Marie Claire]

• The Insider writes that many "what the hell were they thinking" looks walked the carpet last night. André Leon Talley's was the worst, but Madonna looked no less ridiculous, they argue, in her "Alice in Wonderland Louis Vuitton mess." [Insider]

• The Daily Mail proclaims Madonna, Rihanna, and Stella McCartney the worst fashion disasters of the night. "[Madonna]'s bizarre mini-puffball outfit, thigh-high dominatrix style boots and starched fabric headdress from Louis Vuitton's Autumn/Winter 2009 collection saw her veer into the realms of pantomime as she looked less like a Material Girl and more like a bonfide A-list fashion disaster." Surprisingly, this paper was one of the few that still noticed Madonna's "rippling muscles." And some of us still remember Madonna as the original First Arms. [Daily Mail]

"Vogue" - Sticky & Sweet Tour DVD Preview!

Quick Updates!

* Page Six: "IT'S officially the off-season for Sean Avery. The oft-penalized puckster, who was benched by the Rangers for Game 5 of their seven-game defeat to the Caps, was smoking cigarettes the other night with Catherine Keener and a gaggle of groupies in the Meatpacking District on his way to Daphne Guinness' birthday party for photographer Steven Klein at the new Standard Hotel. "He was wearing a tight black shirt, thick glasses and wide-legged swishy black pants," laughs a spy. "He looked ridiculous." Also in attendance at the party were Madonna and boy toy Jesus Luz, Ingrid Sischy, and Avery's ex Kelly Klein."

* M did take Jesus to the to the fashion gala Monday night, just not to the red carpet.





* Women Wear Daily Twitters:

Everyone who is anybody is at the Marc Jacobs after-party at Monkey Bar. Madonna is dancing to her own songs.

Carolina Herrera asked "Is Madonna here with the toy boy or the boy toy?"

Leeds trio change their names in honour of Madonna

Yorkshire Evening Post


from the left are Lianne Dawson, Gemma Mitchell and Emma Dawson

DON'T bother asking this trio of pop fans Who's That Girl, because you'll get the same answer – Madonna!

The west Leeds lasses are so Hung Up on the queen of pop that they have all changed their names in homage to the star.

Yes, to most people she may be the Beautiful Stranger who's always in Vogue, but to these Wortley ladies, Madonna is everything.

And to prove it, twins Lianne and Emma Dawson are now officially called 'Lianne Madonna Vogue On The Cover Of A Magazine McHale Dawson', and 'Emma Madonna Confessions On A Dance Floor McHale Dawson.'

And their best friend has ditched plain old Gemma Mitchell in favour of 'Gemma True Blue Strike A Pose Carroll McHale Dawson Me Me Mitchell.'

The idea might sound Crazy For You, but to these devotees, it's a True Blue statement of admiration.

And the threesome are hoping the wacky stunt will work Like A Prayer and prove they are Madonna's biggest fans. The former Wortley High School pupils, all 23 and best friends since they were teenagers, decided to change their names after Gemma was stumped over what to buy her pals for their recent birthday.

The twins said 'buy us a name' change and the rest is history.

The girls combined various Madonna songs and lyrics as well as their family names and are now bound forever by their passion for the evergreen Material Girl.

"We absolutely love Madonna," Emma said.

"We have been to see her as much as we can and we have got every single album and DVD she has ever made.

"Our mum is not surprised that me and Lianne have decided to change our names by deed poll, but we haven't told our Nan yet.

"Our friend Gemma decided that she would pay for us both to have our names changed, but she loved the idea so much she decided to change her name too.

"We have all had problems changing our names on Facebook, as our new names are simply too long, but we are going to stick with them.

"Most of our friends don't know yet but I don't think they will be too surprised as everyone knows that we are obsessed with Madonna – in a nice way that is!"

The girls hold regular Madonna nights with their friends when they play the singer's DVDs and listen to her songs.

But it's not just her music they are enamoured with.

"She's a fantastic businesswoman and everything she puts her mind to she makes into a success," Gemma said.

The trio are going to see their idol in July in London and Manchester, and they are hoping advance word of their devotional act might reach the star's ears before then.

They are also hoping to use their new found fame to help support the Raising Malawi charity. The poverty-stricken African country is the birthplace of the singer's adopted son David Banda.

Jamie Jackson, chief executive of Legal Deed Service, which the girls used for their £10 name switch, said: "We are always
getting hilarious name changes, but we have never had three Madonna fanatics contact us with such crazy monikers.

"I am sure that the lady herself would be flattered!"

Log on to www.raisingmalawi.org to find out more about the charity or to donate.

Exhibition of Naked Madonna Photos by Martin Schreiber Take England By Storm!

Art Daily



BRIGHTON.- In 1979 the as yet unknown 20 year old Madonna posed nude for just $30 for New York photographer Martin Schreiber. Later when she had become a global icon the shots appeared in Playboy, catapulting Schreiber to fame. 30 years on the original photographs are on show in the UK exclusively from the Impure Art Gallery.

The Private View opening party had to be spread over three nights due to the high demand. They were a huge success, which far exceeded the small gallery’s expectations. Jamie McCartney of Impure Art – “We sold a lot of prints, it was unbelievable. One of the editions is now up to 8 of 25. There are two collectors enquiring about the entire series of 34 photos, which is fantastic.”

At print number 8 the price rises and again at 14 and at 21. Clever investors are buying the prints before the first seven of each are sold. Now is a great time to buy before the exhibition moves to London in July. With more exhibitions planned this year in Turkey, Russia and the USA, it’s just a matter of time before the photos sell out.

The series of black and white photographs of Madonna show her as the exceptionally beautiful young woman she was. Modelling to pay her way through dance school, her toned body, perfect breasts, great skin, luxuriant pubic hair and mop of curls were a draw for several photographers. The languid, innocent look in her eyes betrays nothing of the pop superstar and business genius she was to become.

A similar Lee Friedlander photograph of Madonna from the same year recently sold at auction for $37,500. Schreiber’s photographs are seen as more classy and with growing interest in his work by collectors these prints could be an excellent investment with prices starting at only £1600 for the smaller sized 1985 edition and £3400 for the 60X40cm 30th anniversary edition.

Schreiber began working freelance for the New York Times and in 1971 was a runner up in the first Life Magazine photography contest. This was the start of a brilliant career. In 1977 he began teaching a course on photographing the nude and his first book entitled “Bodyscapes” was published in 1980.

In 1985 though Schreiber got the lucky break artists dream of. Madonna was on the cover of Time magazine. He dug out his nude photos of the former model and brief girlfriend and sold them to Playboy. They appeared amidst much controversy in the September 1985 issue.

The original 1985 prints were exhibited a few times in the USA and Europe but have since gathered dust at Schreiber’s French home as he concentrated on other projects. Persuaded to exhibit the series again for the 30th anniversary, he released this new edition of larger size prints, which have attracted so much attention.

Jamie McCartney of Impure Art – “When you have wonderful nude photos of a beautiful young woman, taken by a great photographer and she just happens to be a global icon, it’s a no brainer, the show is going to sell out.”

IMPURE ART is the UK’s only permanent, commercial, erotic art gallery. Established only a year ago and dealing in art broadly described as ‘anything from nude to rude’ it has fast acquired a reputation for daring and exciting shows of extremely high quality. The gallery, in Brighton’s famous Lanes, represents over 100 artists, sculptors and photographers.

The Madonna Nudes features as part the Brighton Festival Fringe and runs until June 28

Madonna Wears Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie to Costume Institute Gala

Yahoo!

NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Madonna wears Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala on May 4, 2009 to go with her Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton dress. The pieces worn are as follows:

• Anna Hu Monet's Giverny Garden Collection - "Edelweiss" Diamond Cross, D color Diamonds, about 6 carats.

• Anna Hu Monet's Giverny Garden Collection - "Icy Grapes" Earrings, Natural colored sapphires, emerald, ruby, and diamonds, about 28 carats w/ Pear-Shaped Drop Emeralds.

All eyes on Madonna at the Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion Costume Institute Gala

allaboutmadonna

Madonna attends ‘The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion’ Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.






All eyes on Madonna at costume gala

New.com.au

MADONNA is the centre of attention at a costume gala in New York.

DJ Frank E Twitters about his work with Madonna

The sound of the new Madonna record is what I call "Electro Pop". She sounds incredible.

It's official!! DJ Frank E and Madonna were in a NY studio last week for 2 days working on new tracks for her new Greatest Hits album!!!

It's 3:40 am and I'm ready to crash... long day in the studio mixing/tweaking this record for ___________. Hahahaha

M and Lourdes on Lady GaGa's show

NY Daily News

Madonna, her daughter Lourdes and photographers Steven Klein and David LaChappelle all put on their “Poker Faces” to catch Lady GaGa’s show at N.Y.C.’s Terminal 5 on Saturday night.

Since the two performers have an affinity for elaborate outfits and stage production, it was no surprise “Madonna loved Gaga’s show,” said our wintess. “Especially when Gaga played “Future Love” on the piano. Lourdes was singing along to every word.”

At the end of Gaga’s set, the out-there singer was presented with a gold record for her current album “The Fame.” After thanking the audience and her label, she then thanked her “amazing” opening band, Semi Precious Weapons.

But Madge and Lourdes missed that. They left halfway through the show —”probably because Gaga went on late, around 1 a.m., and Madge is a good mom!” — says our source. Other celebs continued on to Bungalow 8 for the after-party, where Kanye West tried to keep a low profile. “He was very weird about people knowing he was there. He didn’t seem to want anyone to know he was out,” snitches an insider. Maybe he should’ve “Just Dance(d)”!

Family in Madonna Adoption Case 'Laugh Off' Dad's Plea

People Magazine

As the hearing on Madonna's adoption appeal gets under way in Malawi, the family of the girl at the center of the controversy – 4-year-old Mercy Chifundo James – rejected efforts by the child's apparent biological father to claim her.

"He said he wanted to make peace with us. He said he wanted to be allowed to take care of his child, but we laughed him off. Where was he all this time?" said one of Mercy's uncles, Peter Baneti.

The father, James Kambewa, visited the girl's clan Saturday in the mud-and-thatch village outpost of Zaone, in the eastern district of Zomba. He was accompanied by his aunt, a man and another woman, the uncle said.

Baneti had signed the adoption papers that would have allowed Madonna to call Mercy her daughter, but the southern African country's High Court rejected the pop singer's efforts. On Monday, Madonna's appeal was adjourned until 1 p.m. local time because John Gulumba, a lawyer appointed by Eye of the Child – a child-rights organization that is against the adoption – filed his court papers late.

'Has No Case'

On Saturday, Kambewa brought his concerns to the family's village, but, according to Baneti, a local chief said "James has no case since if he wanted to have anything to do with the child he should have been there even after his girlfriend died."

In an interview airing Monday on CBS's The Early Show, Kambewa said he is "capable of taking care of my baby" and that Mercy needs "to grow as a Malawian ... with our culture."

Mercy, whose teenage mother died after her birth, is living at Kondanani Children's Village in the town of Bvumbwe. Madonna first met her in October 2006, the same time she found son David Banda at a different orphanage.

Kambewa , who has said he's ready to undergo a paternity test, is scheduled to meet a lawyer from the Malawi Law Society on Monday, said Mercy Mulele, the law group's secretary general. Eye of the Child, a child-rights non-governmental organization, also wants to weigh in.

But Baneti holds strong in his belief that Kambewa has no place in Mercy's life. He told PEOPLE: "This boy is a joker and we told his delegation never to waste our time again."

Madonna adoption case heard amid paternity dispute

AP via Yahoo!

BLANTYRE, Malawi – Malawi's highest court began deliberating on Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl from the southern African country, as a dispute erupted over whether a man trying to stop the proceedings is the girl's father.

Madonna was not at Monday's closed-door hearing at the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, and a ruling may not be announced for several days.

The 50-year-old pop star is fighting a lower court's decision that she cannot adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James because she had not been screened over time by Malawi authorities. The court said the rules were bent when Madonna adopted her son David from Malawi last year.

Madonna's Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula said he was "hopeful" the appeal would succeed, and argued the lower court had relied on outdated law to block the girl's adoption.

Madonna found the girl in 2006 at Kondanani Children's Village, an orphanage in the southern town of Bvumbwe just south of the commercial capital of Blantyre. It was the same year she adopted David, whom she found at another orphanage in the central Mchinji district.

On Sunday, a man told The Associated Press he was the girl's father, and has sought help from the Malawi Law Society to stop the adoption.

James Kambewa, a 24-year-old a security guard, acknowledged he has never seen the child, who according to court documents was placed in the orphanage when her 14-year-old mother died a few weeks after giving birth to her.

But Kambewa said he now wanted to claim custody of Chifundo.

"I may be poor, but I think I have what it takes to raise a daughter," he said. "I will fight the adoption."

The brother of the girl's mother told the AP the family does not know Kambewa.

"How can he claim he is the father when he hasn't been around all this time?" said Peter Baneti, who explained that the girl was put in the orphanage because there was no one to breast-feed the baby.

Baneti said he had agreed to the adoption on behalf of the family, and that Kambewa was "just an opportunist."

Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in an e-mail message she doesn't know if Kambewa is the father.

"All I know is that Mercy has been in an orphanage since the day she was born," Rosenberg said.

Kambewa, in an interview to be aired Monday on CBS' "The Early Show," said he has only seen the girl "in newspapers and TV — not face to face." But he told CBS the girl "is a Malawian — so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian as well with our culture."

On the show, Kambewa wore a necklace bearing the girl's name.

Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, that helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost parents to AIDS.

Madonna/Marilyn on the walls of New York City

Madonnalicious

This Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe/Madonna poster can be found plastered on the walls in the Meatpacking district of New York City on 13th by 9th Avenue.

M with Jesus, Guy Oseary, Lourdes and Klein at Lady Gaga's show in at the Terminal 5 in NY - 03/05/09

Photos: allaboutmadonna


Perez reports that Cyndi Lauper and the desinger Zac Posen were also at the show.

M, Jesus, Oseary, Klein and the kids at the Kabbalah centere - 02/05/09

More photos at: All About Madonna