Liz Smith: Hot, Younger Sex Partners and the Eternal Double Standard

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“You never see a man walking down the street with a woman who has a little pot belly and a bald spot,” says comic Elayne Boosler.

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Now look, when you are 50 years old and still toned and firm – and when you are rich and also one of the most powerful and successful stories in worldwide show business – is it any wonder you can pick up a handsome 22-year-old for fun and games?

Yes, yes – I’m talking again about Madonna and Jesus Luz and their still-sizzling romance.

But first, why shouldn’t Madonna do what men have been doing for years – centuries, in fact? (That is, get successful and rich and start dating younger and younger and sexier and prettier – or handsomer – partners?)

What I really want to ask you about is a recent "gotcha" photo which shows Madonna holding her adopted son, David Banda, by the hand, with Jesus Luz right behind her, and they are actually leaving kabbalah services in New York on a Sunday.

I want to ask: When was the last time you saw a paparazzi photo of a big star emerging from church, synagogue or mosque? They come twirling out of chauffeured cars, out of Starbucks, out of movie premieres on the red carpet. They trip out of discos, bars, saloons and night clubs. But very few have I ever seen emerging from anywhere in a full blast of spirituality.

Now, yes – Jesus Luz did leave his girlfriend, Krishna Siqueira, for Madonna. But he still talks to Krishna and recently told her that he is in a great phase of his life right now. So, OK – Jesus got Madonna and he got a ready-made family and he also got religion. I love it!

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The flip-side P.S. to the above is that nobody believes M and Jesus are in any way serious. This and her alleged “romance” with 33-year-old baseball star Alex Rodriguez seem to be classic rebounds from a nine-year marriage with director Guy Ritchie. Madonna wasn’t feeling the love, to say the least! (She has been startlingly candid to friends as to just how underappreciated she felt throughout that wedlock.)

Unfortunately, aside from the eternal double standard, there is the fact that Madonna has worked so relentlessly at being “strong” that she does not generate much sympathy or empathy. She behaves as if she doesn’t care. Or maybe she just doesn’t know.

Because nobody’s saying, “You go, girl.” Or even placing her atop the current list of luscious “cougars.” No, the general reaction out there, even among devoted fans is … please stop. Cut your hair. Gain weight. Be the gorgeous and glamorous 50-year-old you can be, not some wiry ersatz version of yourself 25 years ago. Revamp your act, so it can go on for another … 50 years! (She is supreme among concert attractions, still.)

And there is the matter of her three children, specifically 12-year-old Lourdes, who is already a beauty. Perhaps Madonna has wise and reasonable kabbalah-tinged conversations with her daughter, and they are simpatico with the issue of Mama’s friends. But from the outside looking in, it’s … Lana Turner time.