SARAH VINE: Why can’t Madonna show off her age and experience with pride?

At 64, Madonna’s impact on popular culture is undeniable. Lady Gaga, Beyoncé: they all owe something to Madonna.

Whether it’s jumping around in a wedding dress for Like A Virgin or making out with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera live on stage, she’s never pushed boundaries, but rather shattered them, much to the delight of her legions of fans.

She is the Queen of Nonconformity, an icon of female self-determination, and for that many other women, myself included, respect her enormously.

Which is why her appearance at the Sunday night Grammys was so unbelievably sad.

For a woman who has always been so proud and defiant herself, who always sang what she wanted, wore what she wanted, danced how she wanted, held up two fingers at authority and ran around the patriarchy, to have succumbed so completely and with such results. painfully obvious to the heartbreaking cult of eternal youth is just heartbreaking.

Seeing her redefine herself along such limited and limiting lines, succumbing to the pressure to deny the passage of time and adhere to unrealistic standards of beauty goes against everything this icon has always stood for: freedom, defiance, individuality.

He’s wearing a mask made from society’s expectations, and it really doesn’t suit him.

There is no point in being cruel, as many have done. But there’s also no denying that she’s gone too far. Her face is swollen with what many assume to be anti-aging fillers, her skin taut to the point where she almost looks painful.

The map of her features has completely changed: if you didn’t know it was her, she would be almost unrecognizable.

Her lips, always one of her best features, are swollen, almost grotesquely. The only wrinkles on her face are the ones around her eyes, perhaps where the needle doesn’t quite go.

They only emphasize the unnatural softness of the rest. She’s like a living, breathing Instagram filter, an animated version of herself.

I’m sure she would argue that it’s nobody’s business what gets done to your face. And that is of course true.

He once said: ‘I’m certainly not against plastic surgery. However, I am absolutely against having to discuss it.

You could even argue that it’s a form of self-expression. People do that a lot these days.

But I really don’t think that’s what it is. This is not an act of defiance, it’s just a 64 year old denial.

An aging pop star who surrounds herself with people half her age, who are so rich and powerful that no one dares contradict her. Looking at that face, all I can think is where are her real friends?

Why hasn’t anyone had the courage to sit her down and tell her that she looks absurd?

Madonna has nothing to prove. Her career speaks for itself, and the fact that she has survived four decades at the top of a cutthroat industry is a remarkable achievement.

She should be able to wear her age and experience with pride, not feel compelled to hide behind this crude mask of youth.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with plastic surgery, taking care of yourself, having the odd rejuvenating treatment here and there, just to relax.

I am certainly the last person to judge any woman who does. The results can be fantastic and very vital.

But you have to be realistic. A 64-year-old can look 50, and that’s fabulous.

But you can’t wear the skin of a 20-year-old without looking, frankly, downright weird.