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.