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Madonna Slammed for ‘Glamorizing’ Deadly Habit

The Queen of Pop and her 33-year-old friend, Charli XCX, engaged in unhealthy antics together.

Pop star Madonna holds a photo of singer David Bowie shortly after she inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Jeff Christensen/REUTERS

Fans are less than impressed with the Queen of Pop’s new unhealthy habit.

In an Instagram reel posted by Women’s Wear Daily on June 23, Madonna is shown smoking what appears to be a long cigarette or cigarillo alongside Charli XCX, 33, and Connor Storrie, 26, who starred in the 2025 sports-romance series Heated Rivalry.

​WWD’s video shows the 67-year-old “Material Girl” singer, who is dressed in a hot-pink, long-sleeved lace mini dress, taking a few rips.

Actress Debi Mazar, Charli XCX, Madonna, actor Connor Storrie, and supermodel Kate Moss sit front row at the Saint Laurent fashion show during Paris Men's Spring-Summer 2027 Fashion Week on June 23, 2026, in Paris, France.

Actress Debi Mazar, Charli XCX, Madonna, actor Connor Storrie, and supermodel Kate Moss sit front row at the Saint Laurent fashion show during Paris Men's Spring-Summer 2027 Fashion Week on June 23, 2026, in Paris, France.

WWD/WWD via Getty Images

Madonna poses for the flashing cameras as she observes Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Lauren Spring/Summer 2027 collection on day one of Spring/Summer Paris Fashion Week.

Viewers were less than thrilled by her smoky display, and the consensus quickly turned critical.

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“Smoking cigarettes will never be cool, no matter who does it,” one person wrote.

Another commenter added, “It’s 2026. Why are we trying to make smoking ‘chic’ again?”

Many remarked that smoking cigarettes—and smoking, in general—“is not cool,” noting the myriad health problems that stem from the habit.

Fans are displeased in the comments under a 2026 video of Charli XCX and Madonna smoking cigarettes in Paris.

Fans are displeased in the comments under a 2026 video of Charli XCX and Madonna smoking cigarettes in Paris.

Instagram/Women's Wear Daily/Instagram/Women's Wear Daily

​Charli, dressed in a red Anthony Vaccarello slip dress, was filmed from a different angle and posted by New Religion Magazine.

After Charli XCX exhaled a cloud, she was met with waving, coughing, and disgust from 61-year-old French actress Debi Mazar, a longtime friend of Madonna who was sitting beside her.

The young artist’s smoking habit is well-established, having been recorded puffing from a cigarette mid-performance at a Manchester concert in 2024. She reportedly served Vogue Essence Bleue (a slim cigarette) on silver platters at her 2025 wedding to George Daniel, drummer for the English rock band The 1979. On Reddit, fans speculate over her favored tobacco brand.

Charli XCX and George Daniel

At their wedding, Charli XCX and drummer George Daniel reportedly served silver trays of high-end cigarettes.

Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for W Magazine

​A few months prior to the runway display, Charli XCX and Madonna were reportedly on rocky terms. The British singer released a single titled “Rock Music,” in which she sings, “I think the dance floor is dead / so now we’re making rock music.”

​Madonna responded to the lyric on May 20 with an Instagram carousel of her posing for multiple photos and the caption, “If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you’re playing the wrong music.”

Madonna and her daughter Lourdes Leon pose on the red carpet as they arrive at the premiere of the film “Nine” in 2009.

Madonna and her daughter Lourdes Leon pose on the red carpet as they arrive at the premiere of the film “Nine” in 2009.

Lucas Jackson/REUTERS

​The video doesn’t disclose whether the women are smoking a tobacco cigarette or a cigarello (a short, narrow cigar without a filter). Regardless of the medium, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative and, as some commenters pointed out, contradicts Madonna’s past statements.

In 2012, Madonna proclaimed her distaste for cigarettes, notably when her daughter, Lourdes Leon, then 15, was photographed indulging in one.

During an episode of the Today show, host Harry Smith inquired about her reaction to the incident.

​The mother of six responded calmly, speaking in third person: “She wasn’t very happy.”

American singer and actress Madonna is photographed with co-star Griffin Dunne during the filming of ‘Slammer,’ later titled 'Who’s That Girl?’ in 1987.

American singer and actress Madonna is photographed with co-star Griffin Dunne during the filming of ‘Slammer,’ later titled 'Who’s That Girl?’ in 1987.

Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images/Getty Images

“Are you a tough mom?” Smith pressed.

“Yeah, I think I am, but honestly, I don’t think I’m as tough as I should be,” Madonna answered.

She continued, “It’s hard though; it’s hard, every day is a negotiation, but cigarette smoking I’m not very fond of… for anyone. I don’t approve of anyone smoking cigarettes.”

Madonna is photographed lying on a bed, reading with a cigarette in her mouth, in a scene from the film ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ in 1985.

Madonna is photographed lying on a bed, reading with a cigarette in her mouth, in a scene from the film ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ in 1985.

Orion Pictures Corporation/Getty Images/Getty Images

The singer, however, has previously posed with tobacco products—and not just when portraying characters who smoke, like in 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan.

In early June, she shared a video from her bathroom floor in which she takes a drag from a blunt while wishing fans a happy Pride Month.

Madonna winks while smoking a cigarette in her 2026 Instagram post for Pride Month.

Madonna winks while smoking in her 2026 Instagram post for Pride Month.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZDRNAnR26y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

There has been a noted rise in smoking on television and in films since 2024. That year, nine out of 10 nominees for Best Picture at the Academy Awards contained tobacco.

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