Madonna was criticized for sharing an AI photo of herself Pope Francis.

Madonna, 66, shared a photo of the 87-year-old Pope hugging the pop icon on her Instagram Story on Friday, December 13. The picture, which has since expired, read: “It feels good to be seen.” Madonna also tagged the Instagram account Rick Dickwho took the picture.

Dick also posted the picture on his account with the caption, “MA.I.DONNA AND THE POPE. Thanks @madonna ❤️‍🔥.”

The image then sparked an online controversy.

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“This is ridiculously disrespectful,” one social media user wrote in the comments section, while others found it “so weird” and “so creepy.”

Neither Madonna, Dick nor the Vatican have publicly addressed the backlash; Us weekly asked me for a comment. However, the artificial intelligence artist shared screenshots of media coverage of the controversy via Instagram Story on Saturday, December 14.

Madonna’s name, songs like “Like a Prayer” and her tours have previously been criticized by Catholic figures for allegedly containing religious allegories. Your 1990 Blonde ambition The tour was even boycotted by the Pope at the time, Pope John Paul II

“I grew up with a Catholic upbringing. During the press conference, while I was busy promoting In bed with Madonna“I was shocked that I was attacked by the church because they couldn’t understand how much my work was aimed at producing something good,” Madonna said Vanity Fair Italy in 2023. “I immediately realized that they were the problem, not me. The problem was because they didn’t understand that my work as an artist united people, gave them freedom of expression and unity. It was the mirror of Jesus’ teachings. Whoever attacked me was just a hypocrite.”

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Now Madonna identifies as spiritual.

“I think it’s important to have a ritual pattern and a spiritual life. But I also think that religion cannot be considered a religion without understanding, without knowledge, without curiosity and inclusivity,” she told the medium. “Religion does not mean belonging to an exclusive or extremist group. Religion means respecting other religions. Religion encourages people to understand what they believe and to study what they believe, rather than adhering to a dogma that would be empty and barren without study and understanding.”

Madonna added: “My relationship with religion today? Cultivating my spiritual practices. Practices that apply to me and may not necessarily apply to everyone. I think everyone should do it because I think it’s important to pray and have a connection to the soul, with spiritual strength, call it what you want. I think it’s important because I believe in the idea of ​​something bigger, something higher, something metaphysical that goes beyond us but holds us all together.”