A Texas radio station banned all Madonna songs “indefinitely,” following the iconic singer’s speech at the Women’s March on Washington. HITS 105, based out of Texarkana, decried the singer’s remarks, taking particular issue with Madonna’s use of the word “fuck” as well as her admission that she’s thought about “blowing up the White House.”
In a post made to the station’s Facebook page last night, the station’s general manager, Terry Thomas, wrote:
“banning all Madonna songs at HITS 105 is not a matter of politics, it’s a matter of patriotism. It just feels wrong to us to be playing Madonna songs and paying her royalties when the artist has shown un-American sentiments. If all stations playing Madonna took their lead from us, that would send a powerful economic message to Madonna.”
On Saturday, Madonna joined the resistance by addressing the D.C. crowd, which took to the streets in protest of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Completely within her first Amendment Rights, she told the audience of an estimated 500,000 that “it took us this horrific moment of darkness to wake the fuck up.”
“Yes, I am angry,” she said. “Yes, I am outraged, Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know that this won’t change anything. We cannot fall into despair.”
Madonna further clarified her comments in an Instagram post, saying her original remarks were distorted.
“I am not a violent person, I do not promote violence and it’s important people hear and understand my speech in its entirety rather than one phrase taken wildly out of context,” she wrote. “My speech began with ‘I want to start a revolution of love’.”
In an email written to SPIN, Terry further clarified the station’s decision:
“Given Madonna’s tremendous body of work her songs were an important part of the programming from the ’80s. “Like a Virgin,” “Lucky Star,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Borderline,” “Crazy For You,” “Into the Groove,” “Holiday,” “Like A Prayer,” “Open Your Heart” and “La Isla Bonita.” However, we are a local radio station and are responsive to our listeners and we felt this ban was the right thing to do and there’s precedent for this. Just think back to what happened to the Dixie Chicks on country radio.”
“Madonna’s comments about ‘blowing up the White House’ are shocking to a lot of our listeners. The White House is more than just the building where the President lives, it’s a symbol of our entire democracy and the American way of life. This ban is about HITS 105 giving our listeners a place to voice their opinions and if you look at our Facebook Page you will [see] that happening. We also have a lot of private message and email responses supporting us and congratulating us for taking a stand – not just from Texarkana.”
“We believe we have opened up the conversation from here in Texarkana and its spreading around across the USA and it’s an important conversation to have.”
