Madonna donates R$10 million to Rio Grande do Sul, says columnist

Singer Madonna made a million-dollar donation to Rio Grande do Sul. The state is affected by floods that caused 83 deaths. According to columnist Erlan Bastos, from the website In off, the queen of pop donated R$10 million and insisted on keeping the action secret. Madonna was in Brazil for the closing of The Celebration Tour, which celebrated the artist’s 40-year career. On Saturday (4/5), it attracted 1.6 million people to Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro.

Controversy

Madonna’s show was the target of criticism and misinformation on social media, which linked the pop queen’s show to the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul — with false information that federal government money was being used in the show and not in combating effects of floods.

The federal government’s Minister of Social Communication, Paulo Pimenta, stated, on Saturday (5/5), that the pop queen’s arrival in Brazil was financed by the bank Itaú, Heineken and with the support of the City of Rio de Janeiro and of the Rio government.

“Madonna’s show was paid for by Itaú and Heineken, with support from Rio’s city hall and the state government, generating a huge positive movement, but people spread a lie that it was financed with the Rouanet Law, with money from the federal government, the money that could be invested in Rio Grande do Sul. That’s a lie”, said Paulo.

Death and destruction

In addition to the 83 deaths, 276 were injured and another 111 are missing in Rio Grande do Sul. To date, 345 municipalities are affected by the floods and 19,368 people are in shelters, in addition to 121,957 displaced. In total, 850,422 state citizens were affected.