Madonna Says Daughter Lourdes 'Doesn't Want to Be Perceived' as 'Taking Advantage' of Her Privilege

Madonna and Lourdes co-wrote a song that will appear on the pop icon's upcoming album, 'Confessions II'

NEED TO KNOW

• Madonna says her daughter Lourdes “Lola” Leon doesn’t want to be perceived as “taking advantage of her privilege” and has forged her own path in music, in an interview with Graham Norton for BBC Radio 1
• Lola and Madonna co-wrote a song that will appear on Madonna’s upcoming album Confessions II
• Confessions II will be released on July 3

Madonna says her daughter Lourdes "Lola" Leon is mindful of her status as the Queen of Pop's daughter.

The "Material Girl" singer discussed a wide range of topics — from teasing a performance at Glastonbury Festival to her evolving relationship with her daughter — in a Friday, June 26 interview with Graham Norton for BBC Radio 1.

She also spoke candidly about Leon's reluctance to be seen as "taking advantage" of her mother's place in the industry amid the pair's collaboration on her upcoming album, Confessions II.

“She approached me," Madonna said of her collaboration with Leon, 29. "She's been very reticent to work with me, she doesn't want to be perceived as my daughter taking advantage of her privilege."

Madonna was also effusive in praising her daughter's talents.

"She has a much better voice than I do," the singer said. "She didn't ask for this… she came to me and said, ‘Let's write a song together. I think it'll be a very healing experience.'”

Noting the "weird secondhand fame" that comes with being Madonna's daughter, Norton and the singer discussed the feelings of resentment that Lola felt as a teen, and how writing the song helped her resolve them.

"She had been, through her adolescence, struggling with those feelings for a long time," Madonna said. "She came to me, she said 'Let's write a song together, I think it will be a healing experience.' And you say what you want to say, and I'll say exactly what I want to say."

The "Papa Don't Preach" singer added that she was "so happy" when Leon approached her to write together.

Leon, an accomplished model who's posed for Rihanna's Savage x Fenty line, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Swarovski, Mugler, and more, is also a musician. She released her most recent single, called "T-Shirt," in May.

In a recent Instagram post, Leon said the song was about "a relationship where I completely lost myself and felt haunted at every turn by lingering, unwelcome spirits."

Madonna first mentioned the song she co-wrote with Leon in her recent cover story for Interview, saying that writing the song together helped the mother-daughter duo move forward in their relationship.

"She approached me about writing a song together as a way to heal our relationship," Madonna said. "It was a really important moment, and it solidified the idea that now is the time to make this record."

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Madonna shares Leon with ex-boyfriend, fitness trainer Carlos Leon. The "Just Like a Prayer" singer previously wrote "Little Star," a song on her 1998 Grammy-winning album Ray of Light, for her firstborn.

Madonna's upcoming album, Confessions II, is set for release on July 3.

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