--- title: Madonna Met Gala Look: Calls Out Ageist, Sexist Critics description: Madonna called out her haters for being ageist and sexist after being criticized for her revealing Met Gala look. canonical: https://time.com/4319589/madonna-met-gala-look/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-05T16:52:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:32:10.212Z og:title: Madonna Calls Out 'Ageist' and 'Sexist' Critics og:description: "My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement." og:url: https://time.com/4319589/madonna-met-gala-look/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Madonna Calls Out 'Ageist' and 'Sexist' Critics twitter:description: "My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Madonna Hits Back at Haters Who Questioned Her Revealing Met Gala Look > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=72f1a018-d88a-4334-ab39-ee968c63feba&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 5, 2016 4:52 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 5, 2016 4:52 PM UTC Madonna’s never been a [stranger to controversy](http://time.com/3638291/madonna-leaked-demos-iconic-artistic-rape/?iid=sr-link6) (in fact, [her nearly four-decade career](http://time.com/3721312/madonna-history/?iid=sr-link4) has thrived on it) and at the age of 57, the pop icon shows no sign of backing down anytime soon. Madge made headlines when she showed up to [Monday’s Met Gala](http://time.com/3846945/met-gala-2015-celebrities/?iid=sr-link3) in a very sheer Givenchy look that bared both her chest and her backside. The daring (but very-on brand) look for the singer, however, garnered its share of critics — most of them commenting on how revealing it was for a woman her age. The singer took to Instagram on Wednesday to defend her fashion choices, calling her Met Gala ensemble a “political statement” in the fight for gender equality. Madonna noted in her caption, “The fact that people actually believe a woman is not allowed to express her sexuality and be adventurous past a certain age is proof that we still live in an age-ist and sexist society. I have never thought in a limited way and I’m not going to start,” she wrote. “If you have a problem with the way I dress it is simply a reflection of your prejudice. 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