Madonna Speaks Up for Britney Spears

She recently told E! that she wants to “go save” Britney Spears, and now Madonna is taking things a step further in the latest issue of Vanity Fair magazine.

Of Britney’s “very painful” situation Madge commented, "When you think about the way people treat each other in Africa, about witchcraft and people inflicting cruelty and pain on each other, then come back here and, you know, people taking pictures of people when they’re in their homes, being taken to hospitals, or suffering, and selling them, getting energy from them, that’s a terrible infliction of cruelty. So who’s worse off?"

The Material Girl, whose “Hard Candy” album comes out April 29th, also opened up about her own tumultuous upbringing in Detroit, Michigan. “I wasn’t a hippie or a stoner, so I ended up being the weirdo. I was interested in classical ballet and music, and the kids were quite mean if you were different. I was one of those people that people were mean to."

Rather than allow herself to be beaten down by the criticism of her peers, Madonna chose to rise above her surroundings. “[I] decided to emphasize my differences. I didn’t shave my legs. I had hair growing under my arms. I refused to wear makeup, or fit the ideal of what a conventionally pretty girl would look like. So of course I was tortured even more. [It] further validated my superiority, and helped me to survive and say, ‘I’m getting out of here, and everyone is a heathen in this school!’"

Gossip Girls

Enjoy the pictures of Madonna out for a workout on Monday (March 31).