Madonna: ‘Jesus Would Agree’ with Women Having Abortions

In a Tuesday interview with Australian television presenter Andrew Denton, singer Madonna suggested that Jesus Christ would have favored a woman’s right to undergo an abortion.

While promoting her newly released album Madame X, Madonna veered off on several tangents about the Catholic Church and Pope Francis. After a joke from Denton about her and the pope knocking back drinks, the Material Girl singer said she wouldn’t be surprised if the opportunity presented itself. “One day he might invite me. I think this one might,” she said, before listing off what the pair would discuss.

“Let’s talk about Jesus’ point of view about women,” Madonna mused about what she would talk about with the pope. “Let’s talk about it. What do you really think he thought of women? And don’t you think Jesus would agree that a woman has the right to choose what to do with her body? I think he would be open to having that conversation with me.”

In 2015, Madonna said that despite being purportedly “excommunicated” by the Catholic Church on numerous occasions, the possibility of her and the pope meeting up to talk about hot-button issues wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility. “I also feel like this new pope is kind of groovy, and I think we might be able to get together and have a chat about sex,” she said at the time.

Hasan Piker becomes both a Democratic kingmaker — and political liability

Abdul El-Sayed’s Medicare-for-all crusade collides with an awkward contradiction involving his wife

GOP Senate Nominee Mike Rogers Kicks Off Race Against El-Sayed With a Big Swing

‘Large Jewish Dem Donors’ to Back Republican Mike Rogers After El-Sayed Wins Dem Primary: Report

DOJ puts $25 million bounty on US-born cartel leader

Trump’s antitrust point man could reshape Big Tech cases against Google and Apple if confirmed

US revokes Brazilian ambassador’s visa in diplomatic tit-for-tat

Alex Murdaugh’s lawsuit against Rebecca Hill dismissed by judge who says clerk doesn’t owe him for defense

FAA, NTSB investigating possible violation of safety protocol involving Trump, Marine One

Tlaib moves to block ICE airport arrests, says TSA helping target immigrants

Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon as Rome peace talks continue

Exclusive: Grieving mom reveals deadly cost of illegal immigration as daughter’s killer seeks parole

‘Oxferd Comma’ investigation being declassified by White House, with John Solomon briefing

Putin selects commander to lead new drone warfare branch of Russian military

Trump Declares El-Sayed’s Michigan Win ‘Great News for the Republican Party’

Madonna’s remarks come as Hollywood is ratching up its pressure campaign against states that have recently passed strict abortion laws. Republican governors in Georgia, Mississippi, and Ohio have signed their own “heartbeat” bills in the last year, barring the killing of infants after a fetal heartbeat is detected — which occurs within six weeks of pregnancy. Last month, Missouri lawmakers passed similar legislation, becoming the eighth state to do so. On the same day, the Texas House of Representatives approved a measure aimed at banning any state or local government from using taxpayer money to partner with abortion providers.

Major Hollywood studios in recent weeks have joined Netflix in saying they may reevaluate filming in Georgia if the state’s abortion law goes into effect. The state is known for its lucrative tax incentives for filming.

WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and the Walt Disney Co. followed the streaming service’s lead earlier this week with a deluge of statements, breaking a three-week silence from the big players in entertainment on the law.

Although individuals in Hollywood had been vocal on the matter and smaller production companies had weighed in on plans to boycott, pull productions, or donate money to help organizations fighting the law, as J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele pledged to do with Lovecraft Country, the silence from the big players was conspicuous. And none of the major studios have definitely pledged to pull productions from Georgia or other states that have recently enacted strict new abortion laws.

Disney CEO Bob Iger told Reuters that it would be difficult to continue filming there if it becomes law. Iger said that the company has heard from people who say they won’t work there should the law take effect.