In the spirit of MTV’s (sadly) defunct Making the Video series, the network released a similarly-styled segment called Making the Performance after documenting the rehearsals of Madonna’s 2026 VMAs performance. And, although “only” a roughly nine-minute affair, as is the Madonna way, plenty of preparation and run-throughs went into cultivating the final product. To be sure, the mere three-ish minutes of behind-the-scenes footage shown reveals that Madonna’s reputation for being both a perfectionist, an indefatigable hard worker and, therefore, a “bitch” remains well-earned.
But the word “bitch” is something she long ago “owned” for herself, declaring one of her most illustrious statements in a March 1985 article for People magazine: “I’m tough, ambitious and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” It didn’t take long for those who worked with Madonna to realize that pronouncement wasn’t made solely to fortify her “tough as nails” image. She meant what she said, and it’s the kind of drive and meticulousness that has kept her at the forefront of culture for the past forty-plus years. And when her longtime manager, Guy Oseary, took to social media on the day of the September 27th awards ceremony, he was sincere in saying, “With Madonna there is no such thing as easy or shortcuts. I wish there were. I’ve seen firsthand the hard work, discipline and attention to every single detail that goes into everything she does.”
So, too, from a more removed position, have Madonna’s fans seen it. For they’re no strangers to being exposed to her behind-the-scenes “glimpses” into how a tour or performance comes together. With Truth or Dare and its “spiritual” (literally) sequel, I’m Going to Tell You a Secret, being the most glaring examples. But, along the way, there have been other “featurette”-type offerings that have given audiences a greater inkling of all that goes into the business of holding on to her Queen of Pop title. Take, for example, a 2005 “mini documentary” called Confessions… On a Promo Tour, which highlighted the prep that Madonna put in for what was “only” a five-song set to promote Confessions on a Dance Floor at Koko (and, a few days later, at G-A-Y) in London and, more recently in 2025, a behind-the-scenes featurette on her free The Celebration Tour date at the Copacabana in Rio. In the latter, it doesn’t take long for Bob the Drag Queen to comment, “Madonna is…demanding.” This before a cut to her lamenting, “You guys want me to work my ass off, and nobody else does the same! It’s bullshit!”
And perhaps the “bullshit” of people not wanting to work as hard as her has hit Madonna harder in the past decade or so. To the point where she seems all the more determined to set an example by pushing herself even harder. This, undoubtedly, is what led to her hospitalization for a bacterial infection after ignoring the signs of her exhaustion (including a low-grade fever) while doing rehearsals for The Celebration Tour. But for Madonna, grinning and bearing the pain for the sake of the show is part and parcel of the cocktail that makes up her nature: a baby boomer descended from Italian working-class immigrants. “Taking a break” or “calling out sick” just isn’t something in her vocabulary. And so it is that she expects the same of everyone else, always confused, in a Miranda Priestly kind of way, as to the question, “Why is no one ready?” Or, in Madonna-ese, “Why is no one working harder?”
That question wordlessly shines through during Making the Performance. Because, brief though it may be, Madonna still crams in plenty of iconic “diva” moments. A fastidious diva at that, sitting in her chair and observing the dancers with a mic in hand as she starts to say in dissatisfaction, “The people at the back are closer, the people in the—” She cuts herself off to get up and annoyedly say, “Oh god. ‘Kay I’ll do it.” As in, demonstrate what she wants. She then goes around instructing the dancers with advisements like, “Make it narrower.”
And it isn’t just the choreography that she has “notes” on. She also has plenty to say about other details such as how the green light of the laser pointers shooting out of her dancers’ asses and crotches looks to her, remarking as Damien Jalet (one of her go-to choreographers in recent years) stands next to her, “You just need to have stronger light. I don’t get it. Closer or stronger, I’m not happy.”
In another “snapshot-y” moment, Madonna is going through the choreo with her mic in hand and stops abruptly to announce, “Okay, I can’t take this anymore. This is a professional operation. No offense to you.” This said to someone sitting down in an “overseeing”-type position, and who also likely comes off to Madonna as a real Doogie Howser type.
With her complaints about the choreo and lighting lodged, Madonna then moves on to costuming, observing her coterie of dancers onstage as they stand before her in the costumes they might plan to wear. Or so one of them thought—only to be berated with, “Your pants look good on you, but I didn’t see anybody with a cowboy hat on in Danceteria… I mean, you look like you’re in the Village People. I’m too tired to come up with everybody’s costume… You do not pass.” After that—a scenario that would have again prompted one of the dancers in Truth or Dare to say, “I love it when she’s mean”—a random cut to Madonna doing part of the rehearsal with Debi Mazar, followed by a brief shot of a dancer lip-syncing the “Danceteria” lyrics in front of a urinal. These fleeting moments, apparently, are enough of a “pause” from what is perceived as Madonna’s rudeness to lead back into a shot of her telling everyone, “Get the fuck on the set and let’s go!”
Her critiques, to many, will come off as overly harsh. But it’s what Madonna does in order to ensure the best, most seamless performance possible. For, as Jalet puts it at one point, the entire production is like an engrenage—a mechanical system of gears that rely on one another to make the entire machine move effectively. So yes, it’s no wonder Madonna has her eye on every facet of the show. Even to this day.
The difference is, although society has theoretically become more “open” to women “acting like men” (meaning: women who aren’t afraid to show “unpleasant” emotions or say “unpleasant” things), people have also become too sensitive and appalled by even the slightest voice-raising to find Madonna’s “bitchery” amusing or even “galvanizing.” But Madonna isn’t of a “dainty” generation. She says what she means, means what she says and doesn’t beat around the bush just because she’s worried about wanting to be seen as “nice” à la someone like Taylor Swift, who ultimately ends up reading as creepy, stoic and inauthentic because of her commitment to never losing her cool. Always maintaining that carefully curated façade.
Madonna might have an “image,” sure, but it’s never been one that’s false. If anything, simply caricaturized for the sake of the camera. Captioning the Making the Performance clip on her Instagram with lyrics from “Bring Your Love,” Madonna wrote, “Don’t wanna Compromise I made the Sacrifice I always pay the Price [which feels like a double meaning here because of Stuart] And now I, don’t wanna Don’t wanna.” The truth, however, is that she’s never compromised when it comes to getting the exact results she wants from her performances. Which is why her reputation was, is and will forever remain that of a “bitch.” But like she said before, if that makes her a bitch, “okay.”
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