In a recent interview, out
Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright talked about
being ignored by Madonna.
Wainwright, 48, is promoting his most
recent studio album, Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios,
in which he recreates Judy Garland's live album Judy at
Carnegie Hall.
Speaking
with UK LGBTQ glossy Attitude,
Wainwright, who came out gay at 13, said that he didn't attend his
first Pride until his 20s.
“My
first bona fide Pride was in New York City in the mid-90s,” he
said. “In the West Village with some friends. We went to the
parade. I pierced my ear with a safety pin. I pierced my ear at a
pier! As the fireworks were going off. And that was when the piers
were pretty rough. Think Paris Is Burning
period.”
Wainwright, who is
raising a daughter with husband Jorn Weisbrodt, said that initially
he was opposed to marriage equality.
“I was initially
very anti-gay marriage. I wanted to uphold the traditional, decadent
side of homosexuality, which I still believe in!” he said. “That
holds a place in my heart and is something we don’t want to lose.
But I felt marriage was too straight. I was in a relationship for a
long time, we decided to have a child and it suddenly seemed the
right thing to do. And it was when [marriage] was becoming legal in
New York, at first, and then federally.”
When asked whether
he had met Madonna, Wainwright groaned.
“Look, I’m
fascinated by Madonna, as is the universe. I’ve had evenings with
her. Nothing extensive, but little run-ins with her over the years,
and she’s never been particularly… I’m on a weird part of her
radar! I’m not quite a target, but I’m not a refuge either.
Whatever. We’ve never had a great thing. But I admire her tenacity,
and some of her songs are great. But she’s been quite mean to me a
couple of times. But it’s like, join the list.”
“What happened?!”
“With her, as
with certain other celebrities of that magnitude, they have a real
tunnel vision. At intimate things she just doesn’t acknowledge me,
doesn’t really see me. There was one little incident where she may
have held something against me slightly, because I worked with
someone who used to work for her, and they ended up leaving her: some
political thing. But [people like her] have these blinders on, so
they don’t see context. I was ignored by her at a very small event
where there were only a few people. It was just bizarre, and very
rude in general. I’m not like that. You acknowledge everybody in
the room, a little bit,” Wainwright
said.
Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios
is out now.