"If he kept his son in the village, he would have buried him," so says Madonna, defending her decision to adopt a baby from Malawi. The pop star ended her silence today with the soft sofa option, an interview on the Oprah Winfrey show. Speaking in a live link from London, she tells the talk show host that the boy's father has supported the adoption and that the media reaction had done a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa.

What do you want to say to all those people who are attacking you saying that you did this as a publicity stunt?

For weeks, others have had their say. Finally, Madonna's had hers. Turning to her native country for address, she went onto the Oprah Winfrey show to deny a deluge of claims: she used her wealth and celebrity to bypass Malawian adoption laws.

It's pretty shocking.

Are you hurt by it? Are you angry?

I wouldn't say I'm hurt by it, I would say I'm disappointed, because more than anything, I mean for me, I understand that gossip and telling negative stories sells newspapers. Eh, but, I think for me, I'm disappointed because more than anything it discourages other people from doing the same thing.

She said social workers warned her it would be extremely hard to adopt in Malawi, but she was determined. Having first seen David Banda in footage she was viewing for a documentary, she became transfixed by his plight. He'd suffered TB and malaria and was held by a child who was sick with AIDS. She flew to Malawi where she funds six orphanages and started adoption proceedings. She insists it was with full consent of his father.

He looked into my eyes and said to me that he was very grateful that I was going to give his son a life, and that that had he kept his son with him in the village, he would have buried him.

But since then Yohane Banda has been quoted saying he didn't realize he was giving up his son for good. And on Friday, a human rights group will challenge the adoption in Malawi's high court. Nevertheless, today the country's president waded in for the defense.

Malawi has over one million orphans. Some of them may never be able to go to school. And someone comes and takes one child to give that child a future, education, and we want to make a noise, I don't know, I really don't know.

While Madonna's choice to speak only to Oprah may have been a rebuke to the press reaction here, her decision to do one high-profile interview is now a well-trodden path for celebrities with a point to make.

I feel like the media is doing a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa, period, not just Malawi, by turning it into such a negative thing.

Meanwhile, she says her own children have embraced their potential brother-to-be.


1.disservice:n. harmful or injurious act, bad turn伤害, 虐待

2.publicity stunt:commercial stunt, advertising gimmick

3.a deluge of:A deluge of things is a large number of them which arrive or happen at the same time.

4.plight:n. misfortune, trouble; complication, entanglement

5.transfix:v. [usu passive]: ~ sb (with sth) make sb unable to move, think or speak because of fear, astonishment, etc 使某人(因恐惧﹑ 惊愕等)不能动弹﹑ 思想或说话

6.well-trodden:adj.A well-trodden path is used regularly by a large number of people, and therefore looks worn and is easy to see.