Leon Robinson on starring in Madonna's music video
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Madonna left the world speechless in 1989 with the video for her hit single Like A Prayer causing quite the scandal. The pop singer caused outrage as she kissed a black saint alongside a burning cross.
She’s not just kissing a Black man, she’s kissing a Black Jesus.
Leon Robinson
The 62-year-old has, on several occasions claimed that she has been excommunicated by The Vatican, something which a Cardinal Ersilio Tonino, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI, believes should happen.
While at the time it may have been daring for Madonna to engage in an interracial kiss as part of her music video, her co-star Leon Robinson, 59, admits he doesn’t believe it was a big deal at the time.
The actor – while excited to take on the role for the music video – knew it was Madonna’s return to the music industry but wasn’t aware of how big the hit would become.
“What I didn’t know is that it would be the lead-off story of everything; not just the entertainment sections, but the front of the newspapers and the first story on the news,” he said.
Discussing the scene, the New York City-born actor said: “[In 1989], I don’t think that the interracial kiss between Madonna and me was that big of a deal.”
He went on to tell Allison Kugel on her Allison Interviews podcast: “It was who she was kissing and that I was Black.
“For one thing, most people believed that she was kissing Jesus, and Jesus is being portrayed as a Black man.”
“That was where there was, and is, a much bigger controversy,” he
Dad-of-one Leon added: “She’s not just kissing a Black man, she’s kissing a Black Jesus.
“Even though in the video he was just a Saint that came to life, people thought of him as Jesus.”
He continued: “So that’s where the controversy really happened.
“There were so many metaphors [in the video], but probably none bigger than that.”
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While the five-minute long video caused a substantial amount of controversy, Leon believes the music video is in fact, positive.
“The thing is, the video is such a positive video if you are a religious person,” he admitted.
Explaining the concept, he said: “What happens is, a woman [Madonna] sees a crime, she sees the wrong man accused, she went to church for guidance and the guidance she got from the church, and that experience from church, got her to do the right thing.”
Two years ago, Madonna marked the 30th anniversary of the song, reflecting fondly on the memories she created.
Taking to Instagram with a clip of the video, she penned: “30 years ago today I released Like a Prayer and made a video that caused so much controversy because I kissed a black saint and danced in front of burning crosses!
“I also made a commercial with PEPSI that was banned because my video was seen as inappropriate. Happy Birthday to Me and Controversy! #likeaprayer [sic].”
While some may have deemed the music video inappropriate Like A Prayer spent three weeks reigning over the US Billboard Hot 100 and was later voted MTV’s most ground-breaking video of all time.
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcast’s, now.
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