Madonna did not celebrate the Valentine day with a quiet dinner and one posed picture. Rather, she had shared a carousel that tilted into lingerie styling, flirtation, and an element of relationship that is sure to attract attention: a 38-year age difference.
The Instagram album depicted the 67-year-old pop legend in a series of minimalistic outfits, including pink bodysuit over a beige bra, black lace lingerie, fishnet tights, stockings, stilettos, and topped with oversized sunglasses, lace gloves and fur coat. In one of the selfies, she was dressed with a cross. The title of her profile was, Thief of Hearts, Will you be my Valentinne. At the last slides, Akeem Morris was seen next to her. One of the frames contained the fact that soon became the center of attention of numerous commentators both are naked. Her personal brand was once again placed in the middle of a recognizable cultural tug-of-war, with style decisions being a form of poll about how old, desirous, and deserving one is of being viewed as romantic, which Madonna and the 29-year-old former soccer player did.
Even though Madonna and Morris have not clearly stated their relationship in interviews, the two have increasingly become visible with each other. The initial association between the two dates back to seeing them together on the Fourth of July in 2024 and the ensuing appearances since then have built up in a manner that is less rumor and more routine. They have been captured on joyful vacation, in glamorous backgrounds, and in pop culture experiences where they are supposed to stand in the spotlight, such as Paris Fashion Week, one of the Billie Eilish concerts, and a London soccer game among others. Snaps were also spread about the holiday, such as family-related shots, which were more relaxed compared to the rest of the minor attitude of the couple. The replies to the Valentine posted fell on two resounding camps.
Other admirers applauded the fact that Madonna had the desire to continue to push the boundaries of image and eroticism in her late 60s and the photo set was seen as a continuation of the boundary-testing character that has characterized her over the decades. Others paid attention to age and looks of Morris, and people made remarks that the couple was more of family than couple and the photos were attention-seeking. The amount of argumentation was a continuation of a tendency that Madonna has encountered repeatedly, the media coverage that would move away at an alarming rate between music and music performance to how a woman appears as she gets older.
That has manifested itself way beyond her Instagram feed. The debates about the recent years of Madonna making public appearances have, in many instances, been about how her face, body, or hair looks in relation to a woman of over 60, the criticism being enhanced by the fact that social sites allow a fan to receive a lot of comments in just a few minutes. One of the boldest illustrations of commentaries on a culture published in one of the journals was the following quote by Lorraine Kelly: on television she said: What has she done? So beautiful so beautiful, why, why, why do women do it? she resembles a boiled egg, she has not a feature on her, she does not look like she has any features at all. I hate it because I do like her. I really do.
In that regard, the Valentine carousel was not just a holiday posting. It was once again an occasion when Madonna, her association, and her body image drew the audience into a larger debate one that frequently criticizes the act of aging in women more severely than it criticizes their decisions, their partners, or the fact that they should be regarded as attractive at all.
