The Madonna Flap At The Toronto Film Festival

Forget the films, the parties and the deals…..the subject that was on everyone’s lips the last few days here in Toronto was….did she or didn’t she? The she in question is Madonna, who was in town on Monday for the North American premiere of her sophomore directorial effort W.E. Word quickly circulated that immediately following Madonna’s press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival that her “handlers” ordered Festival volunteers to turn away from the Material Girl when she passed by in a narrow corridor in the Hyatt Hotel, where the press conference took place. At a festival that prides itself for its egalitarian spirit and for championing its armies of volunteers, the gaffe seemed just another example of an oversized ego run amuck. The Madonna brouhaha was addressed by her longtime publicist Liz Rosenberg in a report in Wednesday’s Toronto Star. “We are still trying to figure out who and why anyone would ask the volunteers to turn away from Madonna. She has never and would never ask anyone to do that ever,” Rosenberg commented. “”Neither Madonna nor her security ever gave instructions for the volunteers to turn away from Madonna. In fact, she was so impressed with the volunteers that she publicly thanked them from the stage for their hard work before the premiere.” It appears that the diva demand came from the star’s private security firm. The Madonna incident follows a recent law change by the Ontario provincial government to allow Hollywood stars attending the Toronto International Film Festival to bring their own hired muscle.

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