Madonna Says Russia Fined Her $1M for Gay Rights Speech and Never Paid

Madonna

Madonna has said she was fined $1 million by the Russian government for publicly supporting LGBTQ+ rights during a concert in St Petersburg in 2012.

At her Aug. 8, 2012, show in St. Petersburg, Russia, Madonna told the cheering crowd that โ€œIโ€™m here to say that the gay community, and gay people, here and all around the world, have the same rights (as everyone else)โ€ฆ the same rights to be treated with dignity, with respect, with tolerance, with compassion, with love.โ€

Sharing a clip of the speech, she wrote: โ€œI made this speech at a concert in St. Petersburg 8 years ago. I was fined 1 million dollars by the government for supporting the Gay community.โ€

โ€œI never paid,โ€ Madonna added, alongside the hashtags โ€œ#freedomofspeech #powertothepeople #mdnaโ€.

At the time, Madonna was also actively campaigning in support of Pussy Riot, the punk band whose members were on trial for their anti-Putin โ€œpunk prayerโ€ performance at a Moscow cathedral.

Following the singerโ€™s social media post, the St. Petersburg court system said two Russian activist groups had filed a lawsuit against her for what they claimed to be homosexual and pedophilia propaganda.

The singer has backed the LGBTQ+ community throughout her career and was given the GLAAD Advocate for Change Award last year in recognition of her pioneering activism.