Madonna Won Seven VMAs and the Internet Still Made It About Her Age — The View Says Enough

Madonna returned to the VMAs stage for the first time in 23 years and walked out with seven awards, the best single-night haul of her career at the show. By any measure, that’s a flex. But by Tuesday morning, much of the online chatter had skipped past the wins and landed on her age and appearance instead.

The View tackled that reaction head-on during Monday’s episode. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin laid out the contradiction: Madonna gets criticized for being too sexual and trying to look young, while actress Jasmine Guy, 64, faces comments for simply aging. It’s a no-win loop, and the hosts weren’t shy about saying so. Sunny Hostin cut through it all by calling aging“such a blessing”and asking how anyone dares shame a person for living.

Underneath the discourse is a bigger question about how we talk about women in pop culture as they get older — and why society treats the double standard as entertainment. The seven awards are still sitting there, by the way. Do you think the criticism of Madonna’s VMAs look went too far, or is it fair game? Sound off in the comments.