--- title: Madonna Blasts Sexism in Music Industry: 'To Age Is a Sin' description: Madonna delivered a blunt, powerful speech while accepting the Billboard Woman of the Year 2016 award on Friday canonical: https://time.com/4597408/madonna-speech-billboard-sexism/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-11T18:46:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:56:19.410Z og:title: Madonna Delivers a Powerful Speech Blasting Sexism in the Music Industry og:description: "If you're a girl, you have to play the game" og:url: https://time.com/4597408/madonna-speech-billboard-sexism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0274041dadd6f318/6988b286e20a877ab0a9381f/madonna-billboard-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Billboard Women In Music 2016 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Madonna Delivers a Powerful Speech Blasting Sexism in the Music Industry twitter:description: "If you're a girl, you have to play the game" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0274041dadd6f318/6988b286e20a877ab0a9381f/madonna-billboard-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Madonna Delivers a Powerful Speech Blasting Sexism in the Music Industry: 'To Age Is a Sin' > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Madonna Delivers a Powerful Speech Blasting Sexism in the Music Industry: ‘To Age Is a Sin’ [Watch (HLS stream): Madonna Delivers a Powerful Speech Blasting Sexism in the Music Industry: ‘To Age Is a Sin’](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jlMUSsoF.m3u8) (1:18)  _Published 2016-12-12. "If you're a girl, you have to play the game"_ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 11, 2016 6:46 PM UTC "If you're a girl, you have to play the game" by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 11, 2016 6:46 PM UTC Madonna delivered a blunt, powerful speech while accepting the [Billboard Woman of the Year 2016](http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/women-in-music/7616927/madonna-billboard-woman-of-the-year-labrinth) award on Friday. “I stand before you as a doormat. Oh, I mean, as a female entertainer,” she said in the speech for Billboard’s Women in Music event, which will air on Lifetime on Dec. 12\. “Thank you for acknowledging my ability to continue my career for 34 years in the face of blatant sexism and misogyny and constant bullying and relentless abuse.” The singer said she learned that as a woman in the music industry, she had to play by a certain set of rules. “If you’re a girl, you have to play the game. You’re allowed to be pretty and cute and sexy. But don’t act too smart,” she said. “Don’t have an opinion that’s out of line with the status quo. You are allowed to be objectified by men and dress like a slut, but don’t own your sluttiness. And do not, I repeat do not, share your own sexual fantasies with the world. Be what men want you to be, but more importantly, be what women feel comfortable with you being around other men. And finally, do not age. Because to age is a sin. You will be criticized and vilified and definitely not played on the radio.” Watch her speech above. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:07] I stand before you as a doormat. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:13] I mean a female entertainer. [ APPLAUSE ] [00:17] Yeah, thank you For acknowledging [00:22] my ability to continue my career for 34 years, [00:27] in the face of blatant misogyny, sexism, constant [00:32] bullying, and relentless abuse. [ APPLAUSE ] [00:36] If you're a girl, you have to play the game. What [00:41] is that game? You are allowed to be pretty and [00:45] cute, and sexy, but don't act too smart. [00:51] Don't have an opinion, don't have an opinion that is out of [00:54] line with the status quo, at least. You are allowed to be [00:59] objectified by men, and dress like a ****. But don't own your [01:03] sluttiness, and do not, I repeat, do not share your [01:07] own sexual fantasies with the world. 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