Only Madonna could make a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin all about Madonna.

Before presenting the Video of the Year award to Camila Cabello at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday night in New York, the Queen of Pop attempted to honour the Queen of Soul, who died last Thursday - the same day as Madge's 60th birthday - at the age of 76.

Rather than focus on Franklin's astounding life and career, though, Madonna's rambling speech seemed to pay tribute to her own path to stardom and how Franklin helped influence her when, as a struggling artist, she once belted out (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman to land an audition.

A short video of Franklin was played before Madonna declared that Franklin "changed the course of my life".

"I left Detroit when I was 18. Thirty-five dollars in my pocket. My dream was to make it as a professional dancer. After years of struggling and being broke, I decided to go to auditions for musical theatre," Madonna said.</s>LOS ANGELES: Singer Madonna was set to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin at the MTV Video Music Awards, but the speech seemed to be all about herself.MTV asked Madonna to honour Franklin, who died on August 16, during her introduction for the video of the year winner announcement. Most of the tribute to Franklin, however, was spent explaining the early origins of Madonna's career, reports variety.com.The only mention of Franklin was that Madonna sang "(You make me feel like a) natural woman" to - ultimately unsuccessfully - audition for a song. She credited that failure with launching her into a different opportunity that led to the rest of her career.She added towards the end of her speech: "I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. Respect. Long live the queen."This got her mixed reactions."I'm so lost. I thought Madonna was supposed to be paying homage to Aretha but I all heard was her paying homage to herself. Heavy on the MayonnaiseÂ…"," Charlamagne Tha God wrote on Twitter "This is why personal essays are over," wrote one user."I hate that Madonna manages to make everything about herself - even when speaking on behalf of our luminaries," wrote another, amongst many others.</s>The MTV Video Music Awards paid their R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts to Aretha Franklin, who passed away on Aug. 16 at the age of 76.

Madonna gave a speech about the Queen of Soul's influence on her life and how she owes a major part of her career to Franklin. "Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of my life," Madonna said in her speech.

The star provided an anecdote about just how her musical trajectory would not be the same without Franklin. In her early 20s, the "Like a Virgin" singer auditioned in front of two French record producers and sang Franklin's hit "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Madonna's a Capella cover of the song was enough to woo over the producers who helped launch her music career. "None of this would have happened, could have happened, without our lady of soul. She led me to where I am today. And I know she influenced so many people in this house night. In this room tonight. And I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us," she said.

"Long live the queen," the Queen of Pop said.</s>At Monday night's MTV VMAs, Madonna appeared to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin before presenting the artist of the year award. The singer stood against a backdrop that featured the late Queen of Soul, and opened her monologue by saying, "Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of my life," then talked about her own career. She defended herself later and said her speech was not meant to be a tribute and that people were "quick to judge."

On Monday, Madonna said, "I left Detroit when I was 18, $35 in my pocket. My dream was to make it as a professional dancer. After years of struggling and being broke, I decided to go to audition for musical theater." She said that later, she had the chance to audition to be a backup singer for a French artist, but forgot to bring sheet music. Madonna even threw in her signature line and joked, "B***h, I'm Madonna."

She continued, "Fortunately one of my favorite albums was 'Lady Soul' by Aretha Franklin. I blurted out, 'You make me feel like a natural woman,' you know, by Aretha Franklin." Madonna said weeks later, one of the producers from the audition called her and said though she wasn't right for the job, they saw potential in her and wanted to bring her to Paris to meet famed songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder. But Madonna said after spending time in Paris, she left because she wanted to write her own songs instead of following someone else's music.

The singer said, "None of this could have happened without our lady of soul. She led me to where I am today and I know she influenced so many people in this house tonight ... Long live the queen." Other than that, Madonna did not discuss Franklin's career or legacy. She even closed off by sharing a memory of performing "Like A Virgin" as part of the original VMAs show in 1984 before presenting video of the year, which went to Camila Cabello for "Havana."

Viewers, including award-winning singer and actress Cynthia Erivo, were not amused. Many complained that both Madonna and MTV were disrespectful of Franklin.

Madonna makes the life and works of Aretha Franklin (Queen of soul), about herself and her rise to fame. Heart was nowhere to be found, ego and privilege reigned supreme. #VMAs https://t.co/ps98de9AKa — Cynthia Erivo (@CynthiaEriVo) August 21, 2018

MADONNA: Here’s a story about my accomplishments and how amazing I am.

CROWD: Huh?

MADONNA: I could not have been as amazing as I am without Aretha Franklin.

CROWD: Ok?

MADONNA: When I performed at the first VMA’s, I messed up but then I got more famous.

*Gives award. — Fortune Feimster (@fortunefunny) August 21, 2018

Why in the world would any rational person care what #Madonna had to say about #ArethaFranklin ? One is the Queen Mother of Soul. The other, like the culture she has successfully used for fame, is wholly derivative of that Queen Mother and the people who produced her. — Greg Carr (@AfricanaCarr) August 21, 2018

Is it just me or was madonna’s Aretha Franklin tribute speech at the #VMAS18 like allllll about her not really about Aretha at all?! 🤔🙄🤔 — TATIANNA (@TATIANNANOW) August 21, 2018

Aretha Franklin's Tribute at the #VMAs:

1. Madonna talks about herself, at length, with Aretha as a footnote.

2. "Respect" is played at the very end.

3. A photo of Aretha with "1942-2018." Bro, what? Disrespectful. — Nia Langley✨ (@theNiaLangley) August 21, 2018

nicki: harriet tubman wins queen of the week! kanye: yo nicki, imma let you finish, but slavery was a choice fam madonna: you know who else was a queen? aretha franklin. she reminds me of myself in so many ways. enough about her let me tell you more about myself 2018 is stupid — m i t h (@ManInTheHoody) August 21, 2018

MTV: We'd like you to give a tribute to Aretha Franklin Madonna: Great, so this is how I got my career started... MTV: No, no, a tribute to Aretha Madonna: So I said "bitch, I'm Madonna" MTV: This isn't about you madge Madonna: Look at my African jewelry #VMAs — lgreene91 (@lgreene91) August 21, 2018

In response, Madonna wrote, "I was asked to present video of the year by MTV! And then they asked me to share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin! I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her! ... Unfortunately most people have short attention spans, and are so quick to judge."

Monday's VMAs were surprisingly sparse in tributes to Franklin, who died Thursday. Few of the artists or presenters mentioned the legendary diva, nor did any performers sing her songs.</s>The Queen of Pop took to the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York to pay tribute to the late Aretha Franklin, who died on Madge’s 60th birthday, August 16. However, despite giving a heartfelt speech about the Queen of Soul, Madonna was accused of making the moment about herself. Speaking at the iconic Radio City Music Hall, the Bitch I'm Madonna singer said: "Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of my life. "I left Detroit when I was 18... $35 in my pocket.

"My dream was to make it was a professional dancer. "After years of struggling and being broke I decided to go to auditions for musical theatre... I heard the pay was better. "I had no training or dreams of ever becoming a singer but I went for it.” Continuing the speech about her life journey Madonna continued: "I got cut and rejected from every audition – not tall enough, not blend in enough, not twelve octave range enough... "Not pretty enough. Not enough, enough."

“Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of my life” Recalling her first few years in New York she added: "And then one day a French disco sensation was looking for backup dancers for his world tour... I thought why not? "The worst that can happen is that I can go back to getting robbed, held at gun point and being mistaken for a prostitute in my third floor walk up which was also a crack house." Plugging her latest studio album Rebel Heart, Madge added: "That's right... I'm a rebel heart." Eventually, Madonna said she sang Aretha’s 1967 hit (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman to help her get her big break on the Patrick Hernandez tour.

Reacting to the speech online, one fan moaned: "I really want to know what led to Madonna talking about herself during her speech for Aretha.” Another added: "Whoever thought Madonna should do this Aretha Franklin tribute should be fired. This is disrespectful beyond." "That was such an awkward tribute to Aretha Franklin. "I was hoping Madonna would talk a little less about herself and more about Aretha but I don't know lol," a third continued. A fourth fumed: "Madonna’s tribute to Aretha Franklin is Madonna telling a story about herself while acknowledging she loved the Lady Soul album."

Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry The Chainsmokers - Everybody Hates Me Panic! at the Disco - Say Amen (Saturday Night) Ariana Grande - No Tears Left to Cry - Cinematography by Scott Cunningham Childish Gambino - This Is America - mcDJ / RCA Records - Cinematography by Larkin Seiple Shawn Mendes - "In My Blood" - Cinematography by Jonathan Sela Childish Gambino - This Is America - Directed by Hiro Murai *WINNER* Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton - Say Something - Directed by Arturo Perez Jr. Shawn Mendes - In My Blood - Directed by Jay Martin Childish Gambino - This Is America - Art Direction by Jason Kisvarday SZA - The Weekend - Art Direction by SZA and Solange Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do - Art Direction by Brett Hess</s>We all knew that the MTV VMAs‘ Aretha Franklin tribute would be controversial (MTV isn’t exactly the best at executing things tactfully), but no one expected it to be so dang bizarre. Last night, Madonna took to the VMAs stage to honor the Queen of Soul, and uh… it wasn’t amazing. Instead of speaking about Aretha’s influence on rock n’ roll or a personal moment the two shared, Madonna spent over five minutes talking about herself, only bringing up Aretha as a footnote to her story.

Madonna told a long-winded story about her humble beginnings, explaining that years ago (“I wasn’t even Madonna then,” she said), she sang an Aretha song in one of her very first auditions. The future-star didn’t land the role, but producers saw her potential and offered to send her to Paris and cultivate her into a pop star, and she took them up on it. However, Madonna explained that she quickly got tired of being a “puppet,” so she traveled back to the U.S. to begin her real career.

At the very end of Madonna’s story, she added:

So you’re probably all wondering why I’m telling you this story. There’s a connection, because none of this would’ve happened—could’ve happened—without our lady of soul. She led me to where I am today and I know she influenced so many people in this house tonight, in this room tonight, and I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Long live the queen.

That’s it. That was Madonna’s entire tribute to Aretha. She then went on to present the Video of the Year Award, because yeah, why not? We’re not sure if this was planned (did MTV really think that this was a good idea?) or if MTV scrambled to find someone for the Aretha tribute at the last minute, but regardless of their intentions, fans on Twitter were pissed.

Madonna and MTV have yet to address what the hell they were thinking, but we imagine that an apology statement will be released soon. But then again, it’s Madonna, so you never know.</s>Under no uncertain terms is Madonna close to the singer that the late, great Aretha Franklin was, so it puzzled viewers of last night’s 2018 MTV Video Music Awards when the pop star made it about herself. In the end, Madonna played herself and ruined a moment that should have solely been about the Queen of Soul and nothing else.

Madonna opened her statement by saying Franklin “changed the course of my life,” but from there, it evolved into a story about Madonna’s journey into the music business.

The singer shared her experience at an audition where she sang Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” in a last-minute decision after she had failed to bring sheet music or prepare another song.

Madonna said she ended up singing the tune, which she knew “by heart,” acapella. Though, she said, the two men who she was auditioning for didn’t believe “some skinny-ass white girl” was going to “belt out a song by one of the greatest soul singers that ever lived.”

According to Madonna, she impressed the men, but the gig ended up leading to a dead-end opportunity. While her big break would come later, she said Franklin “led me to where I am today.”

“I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” she said. “Long live the queen.”

As expected, Twitter gave Madonna the business for trying to center herself during the Franklin tribute.

“#Madonna is demonstrating a dynamic performance of peak white womanhood. This was not an #Aretha tribute but a monologue on how another iconic Black woman is being reduced to how she helped a white woman,” @blaqueerflow posted via Twitter, summing up the thoughts of many.

The Breakfast Club‘s Charlamagne Tha God gave Madonna the “Donkey Of The Day” award for a good damn reason. Check it out below.</s>Madonna was set to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul at Monday’s VMAs, but the speech seemed to be all about the Queen of Pop — Madonna herself, that is.

Most of the tribute to Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday, was spent explaining the early origins of Madonna’s career. The only mention of Franklin was that Madonna sang “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman” to — ultimately unsuccessfully — audition for a song. She credited that failure with launching her into a different opportunity that led to the rest of her career.

She added towards the end of her speech: “I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Long live the queen.”

“I’m so lost,” Charlamagne Tha God wrote on Twitter. “I thought Madonna was supposed to be paying homage to Aretha but I all heard was her paying homage to herself. HEAVY on the Mayonnaise…”

“this is why personal essays are over,” wrote one observer.

“I hate that Madonna manages to make EVERYTHING about herself – even when speaking on behalf of our lumaries,” wrote Elgin Charles.

“Madonna presents an Aretha Franklin tribute by Madonna featuring Madonna with Madonna and Madonna as ‘Madonna,'” joked EW’s Marc Snetiker.

VMAs 2018: All the Off-Camera Action Inside Radio City Music Hall and Backstage

See more reacts below.

See the full list of winner’s from Monday’s show here.</s>Madonna’s attempt to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin on MTV’s Video Music Awards has some viewers calling out the singer for d-i-s-r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

Madonna appeared at the VMAs on Monday to present the award for video of the year and honor Franklin, who died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Her so-called tribute, however, left viewers scratching their heads, with some saying her speech was as much an appreciation of herself as it was to the Queen of Soul.

Madonna opened her statement by saying Franklin “changed the course of my life,” but from there, it evolved into a story about Madonna’s journey into the music business.

The singer shared her experience at an audition where she sang Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” in a last-minute decision after she had failed to bring sheet music or prepare another song.

Madonna said she ended up singing the tune, which she knew “by heart,” acapella. Though, she said, the two men who she was auditioning for didn’t believe “some skinny-ass white girl” was going to “belt out a song by one of the greatest soul singers that ever lived.”

According to Madonna, she impressed the men, but the gig ended up leading to a dead-end opportunity. While her big break would come later, she said Franklin “led me to where I am today.”

“I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” she said. “Long live the queen.”

Viewers reacted swiftly on social media to Madonna’s story and her attempt to honor Franklin.

Some people complained that Madonna’s remarks were too focused on her own triumph rather than Franklin’s legacy.

“So instead of an actual tribute to Aretha you let Madonna talk about herself for 30 minutes?! @MTV our beautiful black queen deserves better,” wrote one user.

Others lambasted MTV for failing to find an artist of color to speak to Franklin’s impact.

“#Madonna is demonstrating a dynamic performance of peak white womanhood. This was not an #Aretha tribute but a monologue on how another iconic Black woman is being reduced to how she helped a white woman,” one person wrote.

MTV has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.</s>When it was announced that Aretha Franklin, who died last Thursday, would be honored at Monday’s MTV Video Music Awards, it seemed like only one artist already scheduled to appear at the ceremony was suitable for the job. No, it wasn’t Post Malone, or Shawn Mendes, or Cardi B. It seemed like only the queen of pop, Madonna — who, like Franklin, was raised in Detroit, and whose milestone 60th birthday took place on the day Franklin died, Aug. 16 — could do the Queen of Soul justice.

Standing onstage at New York’s Radio City Music Hall — where Madonna famously opened the first VMAs ceremony in 1984, in a peek-a-boo wedding dress — Madonna started by sharing an anecdote about how “Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of [her] life” early in her career. She reminisced about attending an important audition and making a last-minute, risky decision to sing one of Franklin’s biggest hits, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” sans accompaniment, then said: “You are probably all wondering why I am telling you this story. There is a reason. Because, none of this would have happened, could have happened, without our lady of soul. She led me to where I am today. And I know she influenced so many people in this house tonight, in this room tonight. And I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Long live the queen.”

The problem was, Madonna’s audition anecdote consumed her entire cheeky speech. While it seemed to go over well, for the most part, with the Radio City audience — especially with Camila Cabello, who, when Madonna presented her with the Video of the Year award a few moments later for “Havana,” spent much of her own speech fangirling over Madonna — the internet was not as amused. Many tweeters angrily complained that Madonna had made the “tribute” all about herself, not about Aretha.

This was not the first time that an awards night tribute by Madonna sparked a backlash on Twitter. When she performed in honor of Prince at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, many detractors, including BET, shaded her brutally.

Read Madonna’s entire Aretha Franklin speech below and decide for yourself:

Aretha Louise Franklin changed the course of my life. I left Detroit when I was 18. Thirty-five dollars in my pocket. My dream was to make it as a professional dancer. After years of struggling and being broke, I decided to go to auditions for musical theater; I heard the pay was better. I had no training or dreams of ever becoming a singer, but I went for it. I got cut and rejected from every audition. Not tall enough. Not blend-in enough. Not 12-octave-range enough. Not pretty enough, not enough, enough. And then one day, a French disco sensation was looking for backup singers and dancers for his world tour. I thought, why not? The worst that can happen is I could go back to getting robbed, held at gunpoint and being mistaken for a prostitute in my third-floor walkup that was also a crack house. That’s right, I’m a rebel heart.

So, I showed up to the audition. And two very large French record producers sat in the empty theater, daring me to be amazing. The dance audition went well. Then they asked me if I had sheet music and a song prepared. I panicked. I had overlooked this important part of the audition process. I had to think fast. My next meal was on the line. Fortunately, one of my favorite albums was Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin. I blurted out. “You make me feel… you make me feel like an actual woman.” Two French guys nodded at me. I said, “You know, by Aretha Franklin.” They looked over at the pianist. [I said] “I don’t need sheet music, I know every word. I know the song. I will sing it a cappella.” I could see that they did not take me seriously. And why should they? Some skinny-ass white girl is going to come up here and belt out a song by one of the greatest soul singers that ever lived, a cappella? I said, “Bitch, I’m Madonna.” No, I didn’t. Just kidding. I wasn’t “Madonna” yet. I don’t know who I was. I don’t know what came over me. I walked over and started. When I was finished, I was drenched in nerve sweat. You know that nerve sweat? They said, “We will call you one day, maybe soon.” Weeks went by. No phone call. Finally, the phone rang. It was one of the producers: “We don’t think you are right for this job.” “Why are you calling me?” He replied, “We think you have great potential. You are rough around the edges. We want to bring you to Paris and make you a star. We will put you in a studio, with the great Giorgio Moroder.” I had no idea who that was, but I wanted to live in Paris and I wanted to eat some food. So, that was the beginning of my journey as a singer. I left for Paris, but I came back a few months later because I had not earned the life I was living. It felt wrong. They were good people. I wanted to write my own songs and be a musician, not a puppet. I needed to go home and learn guitar. That is what I did. And the rest is history. So, you are probably all wondering why I am telling you this story. There is a reason, because none of this would have happened, could have happened, without our lady of soul. She led me to where I am today. And I know she influenced so many people in this house tonight. In this room tonight. And I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Long live the queen.
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Singer Madonna's speech invoking Aretha Franklin is criticized by singer Cynthia Erivo and draq queen Tatianna as self-centered.