On the night of June 23, Madonna, who is known for her Pride Month activations and championing LGBTQ rights throughout her career, once again outdid herself with an LGBTQ celebration at Terminal 5 in New York. The show was also in celebration of FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE, Madonna’s 16-track career-spanning remix compilation album, released on streaming this week.
Madonna was joined by renowned drag queens Violet Chachki, Bob the Drag Queen, Pixie Aventura, and Laganja Estranja who arrived at the event on the Gaultier double-decker Pride bus.
Bob the Drag Queen served as MC of the show, with tongue-in-cheek skits featuring audio soundbites of Madonna supporting the LBGTQ community throughout the years. Laganja performed an epic rendition of “Vogue,” where she was joined by Jose Xtravaganza, one of Madonna’s dancers on the Blond Ambition tour. Saucy Santana fired up the audience with a performance of his hit song “Walk.”
Madonna thrilled the crowd when she joined Tokischa on stage to perform “Hung Up on Tokischa.” She then gave an electrifying performance alongside Saucy Santana to a remixed version of his song “Material Gwerll” with new lyrics. David Banda, Madonna’s son, joined the show on multiple occasions as a dancer, delivering added energy and excitement. Madonna, joined by all of the performers, ended the night with a show-stopping performance of “Celebration.”
For the “Material Gwerll” remix debut, Madonna wore a custom-made Versace suit dress complete with custom hand-painted Versace pins in pride colors. The look was a nod to her original “Material Girl” music video where the dancers were dressed in tuxedos, with Madonna wearing the iconic pink dress, which Saucy’s look paid homage to.
M·A·C Cosmetics VIVA Glam provided Madonna-inspired touch-ups to amp up all beauty looks for guests. Madonna said of the partnership, “Pride and M·A·C Cosmetics go hand-in-hand. In 27 years, the M·A·C Viva Glam Fund has raised over half a billion dollars and partnered with NGO’s all over the world to end HIV/AIDs. Together, we have made much progress and will not give up. This year M·A·C partnered with my dear late friend Keith Haring, known for his activism artwork, which M·A·C used to create a special edition of the VIVA GLAM lipstick. Tonight, we are here to celebrate HIS life, YOUR life, and stand by the LGBTQIA+ community to protect their rights for the same equality we ALL are owed. Don’t ever be afraid to EXPRESS YOURSELF! VIVA GLAM.”
Guests sipped on Madonna-inspired cocktails by Belvedere Vodka, including The Material Girl and Into The Groove. Food was served from Made in NY Pizza and Big Gay Ice Cream. Support partners also included Linktree, WoW, and The Sandbox.
