Madonna Raises Her Voice Against Bullies

The Queen of Pop has used her famous voice to speak out against the bullying epidemic sweeping America.

As a icon and advocated for gay rights, Madonna became the latest star to address the bullying problem that is facing so many gay young people in an interview airing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday.

Madge says she’s “incredibly disturbed and saddened” by the recent spate of suicides among unhappy teens, especially since she too felt isolated as a young woman growing up outside Detroit. Troubled gay students have hit headlines across the nation in recent weeks after several allegedly took their own lives following cruel taunts from their peers. In fact, Madonna credits her gay friends with ultimately making her accept herself.

“I’m incredibly disturbed and saddened by the overwhelming number of teen suicides that have been reported lately because of bullying. Suicide in general is disturbing. Teenagers committing suicide is extremely disturbing but to hear that teenagers are taking their lives because they are being bullied in schools and dormitories, what have you, is kind of unfathomable,” the pop superstar told Ellen via satellite.

“The gay community has been incredibly supportive of me… I can totally relate to the idea of feeling isolated and alienated. I was incredibly lonely as a child, as a teenager. I have to say I never felt like I fit in in school. I wasn’t a jock. I wasn’t an intellectual. There was no group that I felt a part of. I just felt like a weirdo… It wasn’t until my ballet teacher, who was also gay, took me under his wing and introduced me to a community of artists of other unique individuals who told me it was good and OK to be different and brought me to my first gay disco and ironically made me feel I was part of the world and it was OK to be different,” she continued.

The “Like a Virgin” crooner, a mom of four, claims she’s very vocal in helping eldest daughter Lourdes, a high school freshman in New York City, how important it is to “judge” others.

“I have a teenage daughter and I have ongoing discussions with her about this topic so I feel like I need to say a few words. My daughter and I] talk a lot about the importance of not judging people who are different. Not judging people who don’t fit into our expected view of what’s cool and what isn’t. Think about it across the board. The concept that we are torturing teenagers because they are gay,” Madonna told Ellen.

The pop star issued a challenge to Ellen’s audience.

“I think it would be interesting for everybody to try one simple experiment. If you want to talk about solutions or how can we solve this problem? Try to get through the day, each and everyone of us, without gossiping about somebody. Without gossiping about anybody, and not only that, not even listening to gossip. Walking away from it. Can you imagine what your day would be like? How much more free time you’d have? I also feel like you’d feel about better about yourself.”