Madonna No Longer Hates Her Hometown

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Growing up Rochester Hills wasn’t so bad after all.

Pop star Madonna, who ticked off her hometown last spring when she told radio host Howard Stern that Rochester Hills residents are “basic, provincial thinking people” and confessed to US Weekly that she misses “absolutely nothing about Michigan,” apparently now appreciates her provincial upbringing.

Preparing to embark on her world Rebel Heart Tour, the 56-year-old Madonna told Gary Graff, a music critic for The Oakland Press, that she probably wouldn’t have been able to tap her creativity if she had grown up somewhere else.

“To me it’s really important that I came from the Midwest,” she explained, “with my father and people that I was surrounded with, very strong work ethic and my practical approach to work, and not a lot of frills.

“I don’t think I would be as creative as I am if I’d grown up surrounded by everything at my fingertips. The fact that I came from a small town in the Midwest has a lot to do with the kind of open notebook that I had to start my journey of creativity.”

Related:

• Mayor of Spurned City Fires Back After Madonna Says It’s Full of ‘Idiots’
• Madonna Rips Her Roots: ‘I Just Thought Everyone Was an Idiot’
• Madonna Disses Michigan Again; This Time, Congress Heard
• Who Are You Calling ‘Basic,’ Madonna? Letter to the Editor

That’s a different tune than she sang last spring.

Her comments on Stern’s radio progam prompted Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett to write a stinging open letter reminding Madonna that though she may think the city is ”full of idiots,” hometown boosters “actually have enshrined you on our Community Wall of Fame at the Van Hoosen Museum.”

Even Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, called out the pop star on her Facebook page, saying that she is “tired of Madonna and her cheap shots.”

The U.S. leg of Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour includes a stop at Joe Louis Arena on Oct. 1. Tickets range from $53 to $158.

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Photo via Creative Commons